PA: School to pay student $700,000 for HIV discrimination

Back in December of last year I wrote about the Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania and its denial of admission to a student, known under the pseudonym Abraham Smith, over his HIV-positive status. Since that time, the Department of Justice and the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania became involved, filing a lawsuit with the boy's parents and charging the school with violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The school reversed its decision last month.

Smith, now a 14-year-old ninth-grader, was denied admission last year to the eighth-grade class at the Milton Hershey School, founded by the chocolate magnate and his wife. School administrators said the honor roll student, who has HIV, presented a "direct threat" to the health and safety of other students, according to a press release announcing the settlement, which also requires the school to conduct HIV training for its staff and students.

"Children should not be denied educational opportunities simply because they have HIV," said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department, in a press release. "This settlement sends a clear message that unlawful discrimination against persons with HIV or AIDS will not be tolerated."

The settlement concludes a federal HIV discrimination lawsuit brought against the school by the nonprofit AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania.

The AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania reports that the Smith and his mother have decided not to enroll Smith at the Hershey school but will instead use the settlement to cover other educational expenses.

Via the Advocate