CITY SCHOOL POLICIES ON HIV ARE REVISED

Quickly and with little comment last week, the Chicago school board updated its policies on HIV, eliminating seemingly discriminatory rules that had lingered on the books since the early days of AIDS hysteria.

The revision was made after a legal group warned school leaders privately that the 1986 policy violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund alleged that the school system had violated the rights of a job applicant by requiring him to disclose that he was HIV-positive, how he was infected and what treatments he was receiving.

The district even asked the man if he was infected through homosexual contact and asked him to submit to a psychiatric examination.

“We were really amazed this was still on the books,” said Barry Taylor, lawyer for Lambda, a civil rights organization for lesbians, gay men and people with HIV or AIDS. “Before ADA, there really was nothing that kept employers from asking these types of questions.”

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with HIV or AIDS. An employer cannot inquire whether job applicants have the virus or the syndrome.

The legal problems with the school system’s old policy could be an issue in other districts nationwide. Many districts enacted AIDS and HIV policies during the panic of the late 1980s, and it’s possible some never changed the rules to reflect the federal law, experts say.

Many of those schools passed policies during a hysteria symbolized by the case of Ryan White of Kokomo, Ind., a hemophiliac barred from school because he had AIDS. He later won a court battle in 1986.

“In 1987 and 1988, there was a lot of concern about kids with HIV in school and staff as well, so there was a real rush to adopt policies around that time,” said Jim Bogden of the National Association of State Boards of Education.

“Most of them were supercautious about protecting kids and were perhaps overly cautious. But now we know the risk of infection is extremely low. In fact, to date there never has been a case of HIV transmission in a school setting.”

Experts on the federal law said they suspect policies such as the one changed by the school board are more common among small private employers.

“I’m surprised schools still have these employment policies . . . because they should have known better,” said Curtis Decker, director of the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, which specializes in disability law.

“But it’s not surprising in that we’re going to be stumbling across little pockets of this for the next few years. This law is still in its infancy.”

HIV discrimination remains a small percentage of the disability cases investigated by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission–1,058 HIV complaints out of 58,735 filed from the law’s inception in July 1992 through December 1995.

Attorneys for the school system said they have not received a discrimination complaint from the applicant represented by Lambda and could not comment on the specifics of the case. They conceded that Lambda’s warnings led to the policy change.

“I think it’s fair to say that their letter prompted us to scrutinize this policy and make some changes–and I’m not embarrassed to say that,” said school board attorney Bob Markin. “I think it’s good. A lot of organizations get a letter like this and fight, fight, fight.”

Diana Sheffer, assistant to the president for administration and research of the Chicago Teachers Union, said she was unaware of the old policy and of any complaints by teachers or job applicants.

“Under the old policies, I don’t think people advertised the fact that they were HIV-positive. If they got sick enough, they just didn’t come back,” Sheffer said. “The old policy seems something out of the Dark Ages. It was terrible.”

The old policy, which was revised in 1994, stated: “An adult new applicant, volunteer, contractual or adult returning from sick leave shall complete a medical history which includes any history of AIDS or HIV infections past or present. . . . Any deliberate omission may be grounds for discharge.”

Last fall, a teacher applicant contacted Lambda about the policy.

The teacher, whose name was not disclosed, had applied for jobs with several districts. Chicago required the man to reveal whether he had AIDS or was HIV-positive and then submit to a medical examination.

“He was very troubled by it, but he felt if he didn’t answer he wouldn’t get the position,” Taylor said of his client. “He didn’t even consider lying about it.”

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The teacher’s doctor completed a questionnaire that asked for the applicant’s T-cell count, his history of opportunistic diseases and his medical treatments, Taylor said. The form even asked whether he was exposed to the virus through homosexual or heterosexual contact, blood transfusions or intravenous drug use, according to a copy of the questionnaire provided by Lambda.

The teacher took a job with another area school district before the Chicago system gave him a decision, Taylor said.

Taylor said his client has been HIV-positive for several years and has learned to deal honestly with his infection.

“He didn’t think his HIV status should keep him from being hired as a teacher,” Taylor said. “He had never encountered anything like this before.”