AIDS in School

How to talk about HIV/AIDS
Don't panic. The children in your district are not in any danger of "catching" AIDS like they could catch a cold or flu from other children in school. HIV cannot be transmitted through casual contact in a school, day-care or foster-care setting. Why not? Because the HIV virus is not spread by sneezing, coughing, hugging or touching, and it doesn't live long outside the body.

Learn the facts about HIV and AIDS. Good sources of up-to-date information include your local health department, public library, medical center, college or university. Or call the 24-hour toll-free National AIDS Hotline at (800) 342-AIDS. Hotline staff can answer your questions, offer referrals and send you educational materials, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's AIDS Prevention Guide and its Guidelines for Effective School Health Education to Prevent the Spread of HIV Infection.

Talk to your children now about HIV and AIDS. Don't wait until they have been "educated" by rumors and misconceptions that may circulate through the school. Elementary-age children are not too young to learn about HIV/AIDS. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that HIV education be taught within the context of a comprehensive health education curriculum beginning in kindergarten and continuing through grade 12.) For help in starting the discussion, refer to the National PTA pamphlet How To Talk To Your Teens and Children about HIV/AIDS (this item is on Children First! in the HIV/AIDS Prevention Folder, one level up). And ask your PTA president to share information from the HIV/AIDS Education Planning Guide for PTA Leaders (You can also find an copy of the guide online in the HIV/AIDS Resource Library.)

Call your child's school to ask if HIV/AIDS education is being provided. If it is not, or if the school offers only a short "one-shot" assembly lecture on AIDS, talk to the principal. Encourage him or her to add HIV/AIDS education to the curriculum within the context of a comprehensive health education program spanning all grades. If this is already being done, ask to see the curriculum. Talk with your children's teachers to get an idea of what actually takes place in the classroom. Find out how the information is presented: novel methods like skits, role playing, art projects and peer education programs (where specially trained older students teach younger students) are especially effective. (The American School Health Association and your state affiliate of the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers can provide additional teaching tips and materials.) Parents need to take an active role in determining how their children will be taught about this important subject.

Find out whether your school district has a policy in place for dealing with students and staff infected with HIV. If your district has not yet adopted one, urge the superintendent and school board to do so. Offer to help them write it. Ideally, the time for writing district policy is before a student or staff member is diagnosed with AIDS or tests positive for HIV. Contact the National Association of State Boards of Education for a copy of their guide to policy development, Someone at School Has AIDS.

If you are unsure whether your school has adopted procedures for dealing with cuts, nosebleeds and other minor emergencies, call and find out. Most schools have already adopted the Universal Precautions that will prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses that cause the diseases like hepatitis A and B, colds or flu, which are much more common than HIV/AIDS. Also, make sure your school regularly restocks its first aid and janitorial supplies, and stores them where they will be convenient for teachers to use in an emergency.

Originally produced by the National PTA with technical assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.