Child Has Right to Education

Channon Phipps, an 11-year-old hemophiliac from El Toro, took a blood test last August that revealed he had AIDS antibodies in his blood. But he does not have AIDS.

Channon’s aunt and legal guardian, Deborha Phipps, filed a lawsuit three months later demanding that her nephew be permitted to attend class at the Rancho Canada Elementary School in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. Since then there has been confusion over some of the facts in the issue, but there is no confusion over the most essential points. Phipps wants Channon back in school, and he wants to be there.

The youngster’s doctor says he is not contagious and has filed a court declaration stating that. Health officials on the federal, state and county level agree that there is no risk of spreading the AIDS virus through casual contact in a school setting, or anywhere else, for that matter.

Why, then, is Channon Phipps, months after the issue arose, still not attending school? A school board’s concern for the safety of all students is understandable. So are board guidelines requiring medical assurance that a student’s attendance poses no risk of spreading any communicable disease.

What is not comprehensible is why it is taking the Saddleback board so long to make a determination. A district’s AIDS policy should call for a case to be evaluated promptly, in a matter of days. Possibly even a few weeks. It should not take months.

The Saddleback Unified School District has been slow, too slow, in resolving Channon Phipps’ educational future. Justice delayed is justice denied. The district has provided tutoring, but that takes place in isolation, not in the classroom environment Channon has every right to expect--and receive.

It’s unfortunate that Phipps and the district disagree over some of the circumstances surrounding her initial report of Channon’s blood test. That, however, is really not the issue. Neither is the notoriety that has surrounded the case. What is at issue is when Channon will be able to return to school.

That question will be the subject of a legal hearing Feb. 5. Maybe then the court will do what the school district should have done long ago and open the classroom door to Channon Phipps. Doing that could also show the way for other school districts who, out of misguided concern, might consider denying other youngsters like Channon their right to education in a public school.