Children not barred for HIV

Three children were back in school Tuesday, Sept. 17, after an attorney for the Arkansas Department of Human Services agreed to provide requested medical

documentation, said Rick Neal, superintendent of Pea Ridge

School District. The children, who are in the care of the Department of Human

Services, were not suspended from school because of fears of HIV, but because requested medical documentation had not been provided.

Neal said the children were enrolled last May and school o◊- cials had asked for medical information for several months.

The story received widespread attention over the weekend after a media report said the children were suspended because of the HIV issue.

“It’s not about HIV. It’s about having the information to protect our students, teachers and sta◊;

safety is ultimate,” Neal said.

Neal said he and school o◊- cials had been working with the Arkansas Support Network in hopes of acquiring this information.

Keith Vire, chief executive director of Arkansas Support Network, said his agency had not been asked for anything. Vire said his agency is a private, non-profi t agency which provides support for people with disabilities.

Vire said his position is that “both of these children are entitled to an education and theyshould be allowed to come to school.”

“No other child in that school is being asked to prove they don’t have HIV.

CDC says HIV is not a communicable disease,” Vire said.

“We were not asked for anything. We provided everything that we were asked to provide in order to enroll those kids in school. There was a point at which they said they are suspended and we asked them to put their reasons in writing. The law they cited does not relate to any suspicions of HIV,” Vire said.

Neal declined to discuss personal issues concerning the students, citing privacy issues protecting the children.

The Disability Rights Center of Arkansas, a group which advocates for individuals with disabilities, said in a news release that two of the children have “signifi cant sensory processing issues and become overwhelmed very easily. The symptoms oftheir sensory over-stimulation can include: self-hitting, scratching others, biting self and others.”

School o◊cials said in a news release “ … The district has recently required some students to provide test results regarding their HIV status in order to formulate a safe and appropriate education plan for those children.

This rare requirement is due to certain actions and behaviors that place students, teachers, and sta◊at risk.”

Tom Masseau, director of the Disability Rights Center of Arkansas, said his biggest concern is that “the kids have been denied the right to attend school based on whether they have HIV in their status … that’s very alarming to us. Two of the kids have disabilities … that might be the bigger picture there. We need to get the kids into school; whether they are HIV positive or negative is irrelevant. You can’t discriminate on perceived or actual HIV.”

Masseau said health andfirst aid precautions are universal and are the same regardless of whether a person is HIV positive. He said providing that information would violate the person’s rights. He said immunization records are di◊erent thanHIV records.

“This is a huge issue,” Masseau said. “I have spoken with somebody who is very close to the case who doesn’t want to be identified. I have not spoken with the school o◊cials.”