Teen boy, Hershey school settle AIDS bias case
A 14-year-old boy and his mother will receive $700,000 from the settlement of an AIDS discrimination lawsuit against a Pennsylvania private boarding school that refused to enroll him because he’s HIV-positive.
The settlement was announced Wednesday by the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania and the Milton Hershey School, which is financed by a trust that holds the controlling interest in The Hershey Co. candy manufacturer.
The school also must pay $15,000 in civil penalties and provide HIV training for students and staffers.
The school wouldn’t enroll the Philadelphia area honor roll student on the grounds he’d be a threat to other students’ health and safety.
The AIDS Law Project sued the school in federal court last year. The school reversed its policy and announced it would treat applicants with HIV the same as others.
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