Health Services

Student dismissal through the health office requires a nurse to assess for illness or injury. Students under the age of 18 will only be dismissed home with parental permission.

Each family is required to complete either the Student Health and Emergency Form OR the Aspen Student Health Information. The links to both are below.

• Student Health and Emergency Information Form
• Aspen Student Health and Emergency Info

All 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th grade students are required to have a physical examination on file at the health office. Physicals for athletics must be submitted separately through the athletics department.

105 Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) 200.000: Physical Examination of School Children (PDF)

Massachusetts School Immunizations Requirements 24-25 (Downloads as a .docx file)

Please note that COVID vaccination is not required, but encouraged.

If a student is exempt from any required vaccinations, a letter must be submitted to the health office annually at the beginning of the school year. Allowable exemptions include:

1. A medical exemption is allowed if a physician submits documentation attesting that an immunization is medically contraindicated.
2. A religious exemption is allowed if a parent or guardian submits a written statement that immunizations conflict with their sincere religious beliefs.

3. Homeless children and children in foster Care are protected from exclusion by the Every Student Succeeds Act (an update to the McKinney-Vento Act), which allows school administrators time to secure immunization records from other schools or health systems.

Please note that if there is an outbreak of a communicable disease, those students with exemptions may be excluded for the duration of the incubation of that particular illness.

MA Dept. of Public Health Immunization Exemptions and Vaccine-Preventable Disease Exclusion in School Settings

Overview of things you can do to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses:

• Get vaccinated for flu and COVID-19

• Stay home when you are sick (follow the recommendations below)

• Use hand and respiratory hygiene 

• Wear a mask around others 

• Get tested for flu and COVID-19 so you can get treated

• Avoid crowded areas and maintain physical distance

• Increase fresh air 

If you have symptoms of a respiratory virus (isolation)

If you have new symptoms of a respiratory virus, such as a fever, sore throat, cough or a runny or stuffy nose, you should stay home and stay away from others in your household.

While you are staying at home:

• Get tested for COVID-19 and flu. Talk to your healthcare provider about getting treatment if you test positive.

• Stay away from others in your household. Wear a mask when you have to be around them.

• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol.

• Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.  Use a tissue or your inner elbow, not your hands.

• Clean high-touch surfaces (such as countertops, handrails, and doorknobs) often.

You should stay home even if you don’t know what virus is making you sick. 

When you start to feel better:

You may begin to resume normal activities with precautions if: 

1. You have not had a fever for at least 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medicines; AND 

2. Your other symptoms are improving

You may still be able to spread the virus that made you sick, even if you are feeling better. 

For at least the first 5 days after you resume normal activities, take these extra precautions:

• Avoid crowded indoor spaces. Wear a mask anytime you are indoors around other people 

• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol.

• Avoid spending time with people who are at increased risk for severe disease

If your symptoms get worse again: 

If your fever comes back or any other symptoms start to get worse, you should go back home until you are better again. Wait to resume normal activities until you have not had a fever for at least 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medicines AND your symptoms are improving again. When you resume normal activities, take the recommended additional precautions during the next 5 days:

• Avoid crowded indoor spaces

• Wear a mask indoors around other people

• Wash your hands often

• Cover your coughs and sneezes

If you have tested positive for a respiratory virus but do not have any symptoms you can still spread the virus. Take additional precautions to protect others from getting sick. For at least the first 5 days, take these extra precautions: 

• Avoid crowded indoor spaces. Wear a mask anytime you are indoors around other people.

• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol.

• Avoid spending time with people who are at increased risk for severe disease.

• Although not required, choosing to stay home for about 72 hours may help reduce the chances that you spread the virus to others. While you stay home you should: 

  • Stay away from others in your household. Wear a mask when you have to be around them.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and warm water. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol.
  • Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.  Use a tissue or your inner elbow, not your hands.
  • Clean high-touch surfaces (such as countertops, handrails, and doorknobs) often.

All medication will be stored and dispensed through the Health Office. This includes over-the-counter medications and prescription medications. For safety reasons, students should never transport medication to and from school or keep medicine in their possession during the school day. The parent/guardian or an authorized adult are requested to deliver medication to the health office.

If it becomes necessary for a student to take any form of medication at school, a written authorization from the parent, a medication order from a licensed prescriber, and the pharmacy labeled container are required.

Under certain circumstances, in consultation with the school nurse, a student may self-administer asthma inhalers, insulin, or Epi-pens® during the school day after receipt of an updated action plan with consent from their healthcare provider and the parent authorization form. See below for forms.

• Prescriber Authorization for Prescription Medication Administration Form
• Parent Authorization for Prescription Medication Administration Form
• WPS Asthma Action Plan
• WPS Allergy Action Plan
• WPS Seizure Action Plan
• WPS Diabetes Action Plan

Any medications that are not picked up by the last day of school will be destroyed. Contact your school nurse for more information.

Weymouth Public Schools provide health screenings for students as required by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. This includes postural screenings for 7th and 9th graders, as well as vision, hearing and Body Mass Index screening for 10th graders.

If your student is under care for scoliosis or you wish to opt out please use the form below.

SBIRT: Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment focuses on prevention, early detection, risk assessment, brief counseling and referral for assessment that can be utilized in the school setting.

OPT OUT page can be found here for both 7th and 9th grades: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DiJFT980grBpX6ZSzxZ5VI-7Z_KfDoXVHcunD8XiFCU/edit

Legislation can be found at https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2016/Chapter52 (see Sections 15, 63, 64, 66). Parents will be notified prior to commencement of this screening with an opt out option. This screening is done as part of 7th and 9th grade wellness class.

If a student is to be excused from a Wellness class, a signed and dated letter from a health care provider must be on file in the Health Office.