Teenage Boy Forced Out of School Because of AIDS Rumors

This story is pretty unbelievable ... and I hope the mother/father of this child decide to sue the Grove school board for some _HUGE_ amount of money. I hope they decide to punish the school and its principal in some severe way. PAT]

Teenage boy allegedly removed from school over AIDS rumors
Mother files suit against school district, denies he is HIV-positive
GROVE, Okla. (AP) | Sep 29, 7:39 AM

The mother of a 15-year-old boy has accused the Grove School District of unjustly removing her son from school and spreading rumors that he carries the AIDS virus.

Sheila Dawson, who filed a lawsuit on Sept. 16 in Delaware County District Court, said Wednesday she is leaving the Grand Lake area. Her son now attends school in Missouri and he is not HIV positive, Dawson said.

"I can't even explain the scars it's leaving on my son," Dawson said. "We want to put our children in a place where they are not subjected to this kind of environment."

School Board member Annie Maxson said the student was offered home-schooling or enrollment in the Grove Alternative Academy, which is designed for students who want to continue their education in a nontraditional setting.

"I believe the school has done everything possible to protect the identity of Ms. Dawson's son and we have always had his best interests in mind," Maxson said.

Dawson said her son was not informed of the Alternative Academy. "He was put on homebound status where the school sent a teacher for one to two hours a week to our home," Dawson said.

Maxson said the lawsuit was turned over to the school's attorney, Doug Mann, who was unavailable for comment.

Dawson said the rumors started because school officials "believed there was a possibility my son was involved with a student who has AIDS." Dawson declined comment on whether her son had a relationship with an AIDS infected student.

The lawsuit states the school failed to remove derogatory graffiti written about her son in the speech and drama classroom and the boys' bathroom.

Dawson claims Don Barr, Grove Middle School principal, told her son to clean off the graffiti if he wanted it removed.

The lawsuit says Barr removed the student from the school without due process. According to the lawsuit, he told Dawson to "Exit my office, take your son and don't bring him back," and to the student said, "You are leaving; I told you to get out."