Admission and Enrollment

Every  effort  shall  be  made  not  to  exclude  Human  Immunodeficiency  Virus  (HIV)  infected students,  or  place  such  students   in  a  restricted  environment.   On  occasion,  where  the  unique circumstances  of the student's  condition,  apart from  the mere existence  of HIV infection  or AIDS virus, warrant programmatic modifications for the benefit of the student, a referral will be made to the Committee  on  Special  Education  (CSE)  for  evaluation  and  recommendation.  The  CSE  will  then determine  whether the student  should  be classified  pursuant to the Commissioner's  Regulations  on students  with  disabilities  and,  if  determined  to  be  "educationally  disabled,"  will  recommend  an appropriate educational placement.

 If the parent/guardian disagrees with the CSE recommendation, he/she is entitled to due process under  appeal  procedures  set  forth  in  state  and  federal  law.  If  a  hearing  is  requested  by  the parent/guardian, the student will remain in his/her current placement pending all proceedings unless a court order is obtained.

Confidentiality

Definitions (Public Health Law, Section 2780)

1)     "Confidential  HIV related  information"  means any information,  obtained from  individuals who provide health or social services or through a written authorization for disclosure of such information, concerning whether an individual has been the subject of an HIV related test, or has HIV infection, HIV related illness or AIDS, or information which identifies or reasonably could identify an individual as having one (1) or more of such conditions.

2)      "Capacity  to  consent"  means  an  individual's  ability,  determined  without  regard  to  such individual's age, to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of a proposed health care service treatment or procedure, and to make an informed decision concerning such service, treatment or procedure. Itis the responsibility of the HIV counselor to determine an individual's capacity for consent to medical care.

3)      "Release   of  confidential   HIV   related  information"   means  a  written   authorization   for disclosure of confidential HIV related information which is signed by a student who has been determined as having the capacity to consent who is the subject of an HIV-related test or who has  been  diagnosed  as  having  HIV  infection,  AIDS  or  an  HIV  related  illness  or  a  person authorized by law to consent to health care for that individual. Disclosure must be on a form approved by the New York State Department of Health.Release of Information

Under New York State Law, except for certain people, school officials and employees are required by law to maintain strict confidentiality of HIV-related information concerning a student in the District and such information may not be disclosed to anyone unless the protected student, or the parent or guardian if student lacks capacity to consent, completes and signs a written authorization form. The form must be dated and specify to whom disclosure is authorized, the purpose for such disclosure and the time period during which the release is to be effective.

The New York State Department of Health has provided an authorization form for the release of medical information including HIV-related information. Medical and HIV-related information may be protected from disclosure or re-disclosure by federal privacy law and state law. Release of medical of HIV-related information may be granted to the School District using the "HIPAA Compliant Authorization for Release of Medical Information and Confidential HIV Related Information" form. This form is available on the New York State Department of Health website: http://www.health.state.ny.us/forms/doh-2557.pdf

Testing

No HIV related testing will be performed without first receiving the written informed consent of the student who has the capacity to consent or of a person authorized pursuant to law to consent to health care for such student.

Penalties

Any school official or employee who discloses confidential HIV-related information to unauthorized persons may be subject to a civil penalty up to five thousand dollars ($5000) and a criminal misdemeanor charge.

Procedures

1)     The procedure set forth shall be followed in any instance where the School District receives confidential HIV-related information concerning a student from the student and/or person in parental relation to the student without benefit of an Authorization Form or court order.

a.       The Superintendent or Building Administrator to whom the information has been given shall request a meeting with the person in parental relation and/or the student for the purpose of discussing the student's condition, concerns and, should the situation arise, educational alternatives. Such alternatives  may  include homebound instruction during periods of short-term illness as well as provision of educationally  related support services. At  this  point,  school  or  public  health  personnel  may  be  consulted  provided  that  the appropriate  Authorization  Form  is obtained.  The  person  in  parental  relation  and/or  the student should be apprised of this and asked to sign such release form for personnel whose consultation is needed for delivery of appropriate educational services.

b.       If a school officer or employee who has not been made privy to confidential  HIV-related information pursuant to an Authorization  Form or court order reasonably  believes that a student may present a clear and imminent danger to an individual whose life or health may unknowingly  be at significant  risk as a result of contact with the person, he/she  should express these concerns to the Superintendent of Schools who may attempt to obtain an Authorization  Form  from  the  individual  or someone  else  with  the  capacity  to consent. Should this request be refused, the Superintendent  may recommend  to the School Board that  the  District  seek  an  order  for  disclosure  of  confidential  HIV-related  information, pursuant to Public Health Law Section 2785.

2)      The  procedures  set  forth  here  shall  be  followed  in  any  instance  where  the  School  District receives  confidential  HIV-related  information  concerning  a student  through the Authorization Form or through a court order.

a.      The Superintendent,  or  building  administrator  to whom  the  HIV-related  information  has been released, may request a meeting with the parent, or person in parental relationship, and the student  for the purpose  of discussing  educational  alternatives.  Such alternatives  may include homebound instruction during periods of short-term illness as well as provision of educationally  related support  services.  The Superintendent  or building  administrator  may enlist  the  expertise  of  the  child's  physician,  or  any  school  or  public  health  personnel, provided  that  the  appropriate  release  forms  have  been  obtained.  If a  parent  concurs  in writing to the provision of educational alternatives, no referral to the Committee on Special Education (CSE) will be made.

b.     If a school officer or employee who has not been made privy to confidential  HIV-related information  pursuant to an Authorization  Form or court order  reasonably  believes that a student may present a clear and imminent danger to an individual whose life or health may unknowingly  be at significant  risk as a result  of contact  with the  person, he/she  should express  these concerns  to the Superintendent  of Schools.  If the Superintendent  has been given the authority, through the Authorization Form, to inform such person(s) who may be at significant risk, he/she should proceed to do so. If the Superintendent  does not have this authority,   he/she should attempt to  obtain  an  Authorization Form  from the  individual  or someone else with the capacity to consent. Should this request be refused, the Superintendent may recommend to the school board that the district seek an order for disclosure of confidential HIV-related information, pursuant to Public Health Law Section

If the student had not been evaluated and recommended for placement by the CSE, section 6 (above) shall apply.

9)     Pursuant to Public Health Law article 27-F, a physician may, upon the consent of a parent or guardian, disclose confidential HIV-related information to a state, county or local Health Officer for the purpose of reviewing the medical history of a child to determine the fitness of the child to attend school.

Additional Matters

In the event of the presence of any contagious or communicable disease (such as chicken pox or measles, etc.) in the school population, which may constitute a risk to an infected individual, the Superintendent or school nurse with authorization to obtain the confidential HIV-related information may inform the student, the student's parents or legal guardian about such risk. Any temporary decision or recommendation in such circumstances should be made by the individual's personal physician and the student's parents, in consultation with the Superintendent, school physician and nurse.