The following procedures will be followed when determining the proper educational placement of a student known to be infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), including those students diagnosed as having acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Any student infected with HIV generally will be identified by the school district only when the district receives direct information from the student or his parent/guardian about his medical diagnosis.
To encourage such disclosure, the district will endeavor to treat such students in a fair, nondiscriminatory and confidential manner consistent with the district's legal obligations.
All information about such students will be reported to the Executive Director of Student Achievement Services, or his designee, who will coordinate the placement decision. For purposes of these procedures, the Executive Director of Student Achievement Services or his designee will be referred to as the "school official."
Placement Decision
HIV infection is not transmitted casually; therefore, it is not itself a reason to remove a student from school. The school official will determine whether the student who is infected with HIV poses a significant medically recognized risk of transmission in the school setting (e.g., certain secondary infections). This is a medical question which the school official will answer by consulting with the infected student's physician, a qualified public health official who is responsible for such determinations, the school nurse and the infected student's parent/guardian.
If there is no medically-recognized risk of transmission in the school setting, the infected student's education program will not be altered.
If there is a medically-recognized risk of transmission in the school setting, the school official will consult with the physician, public health official, the school nurse and the infected student's parent/guardian. If necessary, they will develop an individually tailored plan for the student. Additional persons may be consulted if this is essential for gaining additional information, but the infected student's parent/guardian (unless the student is 18 years of age) must approve the notification of any additional persons who would know the identity of the infected student.
If an individually tailored plan is necessary, it must have minimal impact on the student's education. Utmost confidentiality will be observed throughout this process.
The school official, in consultation with the school nurse, will review the case periodically with the infected student or the student's parent/guardian and the medical advisors described above.
If the student with HIV qualifies for services as a child with disabilities under state and federal law, those procedures will be used to make a placement decision in lieu of the procedure described above. In the development of an individualized educational program (IEP), school personnel may expand the staffing committee to include the student's physician and a public health official to serve in an advisory capacity.
The fact that a student is infected with HIV will not be disclosed on the student's IEP, nor will it be disclosed to members of the staffing committee, unless the school official--in consultation with the infected student and parent/guardian, as appropriate--determines that such disclosure is necessary to develop procedures to address the student's medical condition, or to implement a health care action plan. These precautions also shall be observed in the case of an HIV-infected student who is referred for special education and staffing for reasons unrelated to HIV infection.
Confidentiality
Any school employee who is told by the student or his parent/guardian that the student is HIV positive, or has acquired AIDS, should report this information to the building principal.
All information gained by the school district through application of the accompanying policy and these procedures, including the identity of the student, will be treated as confidential. Special precautions will be taken to protect information regarding a student's health condition in order to prevent instances of disclosure that may invade a student's personal privacy.
All medical information and written documentation of discussions, telephone conversations, proceedings and meetings will be kept by the school official or school nurse in a locked file.
To further protect confidentiality, names will not be used in documents except when this is essential. Any document containing the name or any other information that would reveal the identity of the infected student will not be shared with any person, not even for the purposes of word processing or reproduction.
Approved by Superintendent Monte C. Moses, December 10, 2001
Adoption Date: December 10, 2001
| Cross References: | JID – Students of Legal Age |
| JRC – Student Records/Release of Information on Students | |