Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1985. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - October 26, 1985
About 160 pupils of the 251 enrolled at the school, Washington Memorial, did not attend today, the second day of the boycott, according to the Superintendent, Patrick O'Malley. On Thursday, the boy's first day at school, more than 125 children were out.
The boy has passed all required medical examinations and does not have acquired immune deficiency syndrome or any AIDS-related disease, Mr. O'Malley said, adding, "He is eligible to attend school and legally we can't say we are not going to accept you."
Howard McGinn, an attorney representing the boy's family, said: "We're trying to emphasize that this little boy is perfectly healthy."
Mr. McGinn said the boy and his sister were adopted by a family last summer. The girl was infected at birth by her natural mother, who is now dead, he said.
Parents in this Warren County community have formed Save Our Students, or S.O.S., to oppose the boy's attendance, said Barbara Updycke, an organizer.
"Our community is being used as a test case for AIDS victims," Mrs. Updycke said. "As a result the children of a happy well-educated school system are suffering extreme mental anguish."
On Thursday, the boy was escorted into the school early by his mother and a social worker, said James Broscius, an attorney for the school board.
The board had defied a state directive to readmit the boy, who was barred from classes when officials learned that his 5-year-old sister suffered from AIDS-Related Complex, which doctors say may lead to the immunity disorder.
The district challenged the state AIDS guidelines in court. In the meantime, school officials struck a compromise with the parents that the boy could attend school as long as he underwent a monthly medical examination.
The boy's sister is not attending school, and plans for her education have not been completed.
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