No school system employee diagnosed with HIV infection or AIDS shall be prevented from continuing employment based solely on this diagnosis. No employee shall be required to have any blood tests or medical consultation to determine HIV status. This does not preclude school officials from requiring an employee to undergo an examination when another communicable illness is suspected.
When it becomes known to the local education agency (LEA) that an employee has tested positive for HIV or has been diagnosed with AIDS or HIV-related illness, an evaluation team, on a case-by-case basis, will be convened to determine employment status and conditions. A review of employment conditions will be made on a case-by-case basis by a team that will include the superintendent, a physician or nurse designated by the Regional Health Officer, the employee, and the employee's physician. The employee's attorney may be present upon request from the employee provided the LEA is given a 24-hour notice in order that the LEA's attorney may be present.
The team will review the employee's medical records to determine if, by reason of the disease, the employee is medically capable of performing his/her responsibilities. As may be required by federal or state law, the school system will make reasonable accommodation to enable the employee to perform employment duties.
No discrimination, disciplinary action or other adverse personnel action will be taken against the employee solely on the basis of HIV infection or AIDS. Action may be taken only if the employee is disabled and the disability interferes with the employee's ability to perform activities involved in employment after reasonable accommodations to enable the employee to perform these duties have been attempted.
PERSONNEL
Liability and Non-discrimination
Decisions on participation in activities which may be medically hazardous to persons with AIDS will be made on a case-by-case basis by the evaluation team which was used to determine the employment status of the LEA employee.
In accordance with current law and regulations, the school system will take all reasonable actions to prevent any diagnosed employee from being subjected to adverse or discriminatory treatment.
Safety
An employee with AIDS, who is known to have been exposed to a contagious disease, will be notified by the superintendent.
To prevent and manage exposure in the workplace, all school system employees will receive in-service training and education annually regarding HIV-AIDS and OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard.
The principal and/or supervisor will ensure that an accident report is filed for all accidents. The report will include the person's name, date of the accident, an explanation of the accident, and care used in treating the individual. These reports will be kept in a file in the principal's and/or supervisor's office for a minimum of one year.
Communication
HIV-AIDS information will remain strictly confidential. Permissible disclosure will occur pursuant only to a signed authorization for release, appropriate court order, or a lawfully issued subpoena. The superintendent will be responsible for all communications on AIDS.
Adopted 08/25/88, as a part of 6407
Revised 09/26/96
Revised 06/25/98