NCJ Number
117482
Journal
New Jersey Lawyer Issue: 126 Dated: (January/February 1989) Pages: 24-27
Date Published
1989
Length
4 pages
Annotation
In focusing on AIDS issues relevant to an attorney advising a New Jersey school district, this article presents the regulations of New Jersey Departments of Education (DOE) and Health (DOH) regarding the management of school-age children testing HIV positive and discusses legal issues in implementing the policy and other topics pertaining to a school's potential liability in the AIDS context.
Abstract
The DOE and DOH regulations state that pupils with HIV infection shall not be excluded from attending school unless one of the following circumstances exists: the pupil is not toilet trained or is incontinent; the pupil is unable to control drooling; or the pupil is unusually physically aggressive, with a history of biting or harming others. The New Jersey Supreme Court, in Board of Education, Plainfield v. Cooperman, upheld the constitutionality of these regulations and the right of the DOE and DOH to require local school districts to comply with them. The implementation of the regulations in a local context, however, raises other legal issues, such as the documentation for excluding HIV-infected pupils from classroom attendance and school decisions on alternative educational contexts. Other potential for schools' legal liability in the AIDS context are confidentiality procedures for HIV-infected students and the promulgation of procedures for teachers and students to use when handling blood and body fluids on school premises. 31 footnotes.