An Illinois bill that would repeal an HIV-notification law is headed for a full Senate vote after the bill passed committee.
HB61 would remove a longstanding mandate that health officials notify school principals about HIV-positive students. State law currently allows a principal can share a student's HIV-positive status with other teachers and staff. HB61 would make that notification illegal, removing HIV statuses from permanent school records.
AIDS advocates have long held that HIV notification laws increase stigma and discrimination.
John Peller, vice president of policy for AIDS Foundation of Chicago, said that stigma in schools as a result of notification laws singles out HIV-positive students.
"We have also had situations where school staff have treated students differently because they have HIV," Peller said.
Peller argued that even when the law was enacted more than two decades ago, students were not at risk of contracting HIV in schools. A fact sheet put out by AFC further states that fear of having an HIV-status shared can deter young people from getting tested.
AIDS advocates applauded the bill's passage out of committee. They said that the repeal of the law brings Illinois into line with the rest of the country.
"We are so pleased that this bill again received bi-partisan support in the Senate committee," said Ann Fisher, executive director of AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, in a statement. "Iris Martinez, the Senate sponsor, did a great job in response to sometimes hostile questioning, repeatedly reminding the committee that Illinois is the only state with a principal-notification requirement and that the requirement makes high-risk teens much less likely to get HIV testing and treatment."
According to the statement put out by AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, local groups have been working for years to repeal the law.
The bill has already passed the House. House sponsors included openly gay Reps. Greg Harris, Kelly Cassidy and Deb Mell.