NCJ Number
117629
Editor(s)
M Quackenbush,
M Nelson,
K Clark
Date Published
1988
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This interview with a researcher who studied the responses of seven communities to HIV-infected children in the public schools focuses on how communities make decisions regarding these students and how leadership roles and community history affect the outcome.
Abstract
Some communities calmly accepted the attendance of HIV-infected children in their schools, while others panicked and used the courts and other means to keep children out of school. The research revealed the importance of supportive attitudes by school officials and showed that court victories for students with AIDS and their families do not settle the human issues of acceptance. Factors that were crucial to a constructive response were the superintendent's leadership, careful planning and implementation of an AIDS policy, the principal's role as a source of information and caring, alliances with community leaders, and efforts to confront fears and providing facts. School districts are urged to recognize that they all must undertake AIDS education so that it can become just another disease rather than a source of panic.