Twenty years ago, when the Illinois General Assembly approved a law requiring
that school principals be notified whenever a student tests positive for the
human immune deficiency virus, it was widely believed that children could catch
HIV during a game of tag.
Much better information about HIV exists today. With infection rates among
people under 24 on the rise, advocates for children with HIV/AIDS are working
to repeal the law, which they believe discourages young people from being
tested.
Cathy Krieger, executive director of the Children’s Place, a Chicago-based nonprofit that works with kids with HIV/AIDS and their
families, calls the notification law a relic. Her group cites Illinois
Department of Public Health data from November 2007 showing a 60 percent spike
in HIV cases among people under the age of 24 since 2000, which demonstrates
the necessity of removing barriers to testing.
“The disclosure of a student’s HIV status creates a deceptive sense of security for students and teachers
alike because the HIV status of many people — students and staff — is unknown and unreported,” Krieger says.
In March 2008, a bill that would have repealed the provision of the state’s communicable disease act was defeated in the House, proponents say, because
lawmakers felt they didn’t have enough information. But while last year’s campaign focused largely on the issue of deterrence to testing, this time
supporters are making their appeal on medical grounds.
“There’s the potential that any student could have a blood-borne, disease,” says David Ormsby, a Children’s Place spokesman. “As long as schools adhere to universally accepted medical practices, they reduce
the chance of transmission.”
Nationally, Illinois ranks sixth among the states in overall HIV/AIDS infection
rates. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, more than 4,500
cases of HIV had been reported in Illinois as of July 1999 among people ages 20
to 29. HIV is the also the sixth leading cause of death in Illinois for 25- to
44-year-olds — people who are likely to have contracted the virus as teenagers.
Just four other states have reporting mandates similar to the one in Illinois.
Jason Leahy, executive director of the Illinois Principals Association,
believes that repealing HIV notification might conflict with school officials’ “in loco parentis” (in place of parent) rights.
“As officials, we’re required to watch and care for these kids. When you have a bill like this
that infringes on that care, it causes a bit of concern,” he says.
However, the current legislation, sponsored by Democratic state Rep. LaShawn
Ford of Chicago, doesn’t prohibit principals from being notified. Instead, that decision is left to the
child’s parents and physician, says Scott Allen, who heads the Illinois chapter of the
American Academy of Pediatrics, which is backing Ford’s bill.
Pediatricians agree that mandatory reporting deters teens from finding out their
HIV status. “There’s simply no reason for this,” to remain on the books, Allen says.
This article appears in Feb 26 – Mar 4, 2009.
