If a child has HIV infection does the school have the right to know?

I am a school teacher and I have been recently thinking about this issue. I work in a city that has one of the highest hiv rates in the country. My students are constantly getting cut ( nothing major of course just small injuries from playing around) and I have atleast two fights a month in my classroom). I believe in the right to privacy but must admit that I am little torn on this subject.

Weather they have a "right" is a matter of personal opinion. But if your asking do they have to be told, then the answer is no. It is a medical condition and is private information. There are new laws, HIPPA Laws, that protect patient privacy. Any medical information about you is private. Your doctor ect...can not share this with anyone. No one has the right to know anything about your medical condition that you dont want them to know.


*EDIT* Everyone in the medical field from firefighters to EMT's to Nurses and doctors are taught BSI (body substance isolation)... in other words everyone you touch you must wear gloves and protective equipment... you really have to assume everyone has HIV to keep yourself protected. (Was an EMT for 5 years) So if they don't know if the person is infected and they don't wear gloves and catch something, that just makes them stupid!

i think the school should know to help better protect the teachers and other students. the down side of them knowing is that the said child will most likely be treated differently. the best thing to do is keep a first aid kit will rubber gloves in reach at all times.

I think they absolutely have a right to know, for the safety of the infected child as well as the other students.

I say the school has a right to know, because what if the child cuts him/herself and starts bleeding...you would want to know, right?

Being a teacher myself, I like to know as much as I can about my students for their own well-being and information of that sort is definitely something that should be shared amongst the direct contact staff (classroom teacher, administration, nurse, and p.e. coaches.) No one else has to be involved in that child's personal life! Just as the law protects that student's educational record, with more reason their health should be kept amongst those who care.

I think the nurse and the childs teacher need know so the can watch for illness and can alert the childs family if something contagious is going around. Since blood protocol should be followed a little stricter with hiv I also think the nurse and teacher should know so that they can be cautious without hurting the childs feelings. I went to school with an HIVpositive child and she was very open about it and always reminded people to back off and let her deal with her own injuries.

No, they shouldn't have the right. Privacy laws exist for a reason. Anybody dealing with bodily fluids should know that ANY person you come in contact with should be assumed to be carrying every single infectious disease until proven otherwise- because you can't tell just by looking, and there are far too many people with undiagnosed HIV who couldn't warn you even if they would have had they known. As has been said, it's your own damn fault if you don't wear gloves to treat a student's wound.

Look at it this way:

If ANY child at school got a cut or into a bloody fight and the child had HIV but had NEVER HAD A DIAGNOSIS, would you assume the child did not have HIV and not use gloves and other percautions?

Basically, what I am saying is that you may not know because they may not know. So as far as fights and cuts go you should always use the percautions.