HEALTH SERVICES: CHILDREN WHO ARE KNOWN TO BE

CARRIERS OF THE HTLV-III VIRUS (AIDS)

 

The purpose of this policy is to establish what actions shall be taken in the event that any employee or Director of M.S.A.D. No. 71 is made aware that a student attending school is infected with Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type III (the AIDS Virus) and to assure that the rights of all involved parties are preserved.

 

1.         Except as otherwise provided in this policy, M.S.A.D. No. 71 shall provide educational opportunities for students infected with HIV just as it does for other students.

 

2.         Any employee or Director of the District who becomes aware that a student is or may be infected with HIV shall notify the Superintendent except under the following circumstances:

 

A.        If the employee’s or Director’s knowledge of the HIV infection is based upon information obtained from the student, the student’s parent or guardian or the student’s medical provider, that information shall not be shared with anyone, including the Superintendent except with the written permission of the parent or guardian of the student.

 

B.         If the employee’s or Director’s knowledge is based upon the results of an HIV test, that knowledge shall not be shared with anyone, including the Superintendent. Except with the written permission of the parent or guardian of the student.

 

The employee or Director who notifies the Superintendent of a student’s HIV infection shall take care to ensure that no other person has access to the information and shall not disclose the information to anyone other than the Superintendent.

 

3.         Upon receipt of information regarding a student’s HIV infection, the Superintendent shall notify the Maine Bureau of Health and shall act in accordance with all lawful advice and instructions of the Maine Bureau of Health.  The Superintendent shall request advice from the Maine Bureau of Health whenever the Superintendent has knowledge of acts, which cause him/her concern that a student poses a public health threat to others or that there exists a condition in the school that poses a health threat to the HIV infected student.  The Superintendent may also consult on a strictly confidential basis with the District’s attorney.

 

4.         If the Maine Bureau of Health advises the Superintendent to remove that student from the usual classroom setting, the Superintendent shall do so without delay.  The student shall be readmitted to the regular classroom setting when the Maine Bureau of Health notifies the Superintendent to do so.

 

The Maine Bureau of Health shall be solely responsible for deciding whether a student infected with HIV shall be removed or readmitted to the usual school setting.

 

5.         All records containing information about HIV test results, consent forms relating to test results and any other information about a student’s HIV infection shall be maintained in the Superintendent’s custody separate from other school records.  The information in such records shall not be disclosed to anyone other than the Maine Bureau of Health without written consent of the student’s parent or guardian.  Only those persons given written consent by the student’s parent or guardian shall have access to such records.

 

6.         With the written consent of the student’s parent or guardian, which the Superintendent shall request in writing, the Superintendent shall designate an individual or team to:

 

a.         Serve as the liaison between the school and the student’s parents or guardian, the student’s physician and the Maine Bureau of Health; and

b.         Monitor and supervise the student’s educational experience so that the student will receive educational opportunities comparable to other students, to the extent practicable within the setting determined by the Maine Bureau of Health.

 

Any employee, Director, attorney or agent of the District entrusted by the Superintendent with the knowledge of a student’s infection with HIV shall keep this knowledge confidential, and access to information about the student’s health status shall be limited to only those persons authorized in writing by the student’s parent or guardian.

 

7.         At the written request of the student’s parent or guardian, the individual or team member designated by the Superintendent will, whenever practicable, notify the student’s parent or guardian or the student’s private physician in the event that the designated individual or team members become aware that an infection or illness is occurring in the school population and such infection has been identified, in a written notice by the student’s physician or the Maine Bureau of Health, as one which may place the immunodeficient student at increased risk.  The Superintendent shall remove the student from school only if advised to do so by the Maine Bureau of Health.  The student’s parent or guardian may remove the student from school.