"Because rabies is a fatal disease, the goal of public health is, first, to prevent human exposure to rabies by education and, second, to prevent the disease by anti-rabies treatment if exposure occurs," according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.

The site explains that tens of thousands of people are treated each year and only a few die of rabies — usually because people don't realize they've been bitten or they don't understand the risk and thus don't seek medical attention.

Experts say people should not ever touch a bat with their bare hands, especially if it's on the ground or near humans — a signal it is sick and possibly carrying rabies.

If there is contact, the vaccination process costs nearly $2,000, Miner said, and includes five shots of the vaccine in 28 days and one gamma globulin shot.

Howell said the negligence lawsuit has been filed as a class action, meaning other injured students could join in.

"The ... problems in this case are not nearly as serious as they could have been, but they were real problems that people had to deal with," Howell said. "The bigger issue is to get the school district to make sure that our kids are going to school and being educated in a safe environment."

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