PARK CITY SCHOOLS APPROVE POLICY ON DEALING WITH AIDS

A policy dealing with AIDS was passed unanimously by members of the Park City School District Board during a recent meeting.

The two-pronged policy deals with both students and school personnel diagnosed as infected with the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome virus. It also includes a consent letter the district will distribute to parents, asking permission for children to attend classes that review "the use of contraceptive devices as part of the curriculum on human sexuality, communicable diseases and sexually transmitted diseases."Under the new ruling, a student who tests positive "shall continue in the regular classroom while the case is under review." In such case, the district will form an evaluation which includes student's physician, a health department official and a school district representative.

The team will decide whether the student poses a threat, and will propose where to place the student. The policy states that in such cases, the student must be placed in the "least restrictive environment."

Aggressive students, or those who show clinical evidence of infection or are too ill to attend school, will enter an alternative education program provided by the district.

Employees diagnosed with the virus will also be evaluated by a similar team and will remain on the job while being evaluated.

In making its decision, the team will consider recent AIDS research findings, the kind of work the employee performs and the danger of transmission. If infected employees become too sick to continue, they would receive medical leave.

The board also agreed to cooperate with other agencies in educating residents, patrons, employees and students about AIDS and the risk of transmission.