HIV Kid Sues to Get Into Hershey School - PART II

The case of the HIV-positive Delaware County kids suing the Milton Hershey School for refusing him admittance to the school based on his HIV-status may not be as open and shut as I first thought and wrote here.

I assumed that because the Hersey School is a private school that takes no public funds that it was exempt from government anti-discrimination laws. Moreover, Lawyers.com states pretty clearly that is the case.

But after doing a little more research, that is less clear. Even completely private institutions can apparently be compelled by government to "accomodate" people with assorted "disabilities" including HIV positive status.

It appears the question in this case is whether the school's desire to protect the 1,800 plus students under its care is deemed legitimate and trumps the right of this particular 13-year-old not to be excluded from consideration for admittance because of his HIV status. According to the suit, he was born that way.

Having read the lawsuit and the effort by the school to get judicial guidance, two things are clear: 1. The school has made a good faith effort to find out what its legal obligations are and 2. It has provided good arguments and sensible reasons for its concern about having an HIV-positive student on it's co-ed campus 24/7.

Mostly, MHS officials cite concerns that despite its best efforts to discourage sexual activity between students, it goes on more often than they would like. Because of the privacy issues, neither staff nor other students can be informed of the boy's HIV status. From age 13 to 18, there can be no guarantee that he won't be sexually active on campus, which raises all sorts of potential problems, risks and liability concerns.

The AIDS Law Center in Philadelphia decided not to wait for a judge to rule on the school's request for guidance before filing its lawsuit. The suit asks for compensatory damages to be paid to the boy for being "profoundly humiliated and embarrassed" and to his mother for her "mental grief, anguish, worry, and other emotional disturbances beyond what a reasonable person could be expected to endure."

This kid was dealt a lousy hand a birth. But it was his mother (and/or father) who dealt those cards. Maybe the kid should think about suing them too.