Private school to admit HIV student

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HERSHEY, Pa., Aug. 7 (UPI) -- A student denied admission to Pennsylvania's Milton Hershey School in November because he was HIV-positive is now welcome to come, the school's president says.

The offer was made after the school was sued for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The offer was made in a July 21 letter t the boy and his mother, President Anthony Colistra said in a statement Monday.

The boy was denied admission because the school thought his human immunodeficiency virus made him a "threat" should he engage in sex with other students at the residential school. HIV is the cause of AIDS.

Colistra denied the school had done anything wrong by refusing the child admission, but said the U.S. Department of Justice had advised the school it disagreed with its interpretation of the law.

Hershey will no longer refuse a child admission based on their HIV status, the president said. The school is drafting a policy to reflect the change and will train staff and students on HIV issues, he said.

The student is now 14 and attends public school in a nearby county. His lawyer said the boy was considering the offer, as well as other options.