The State - News from Sept. 4, 1986

A 4-year-old AIDS victim from Atascadero whose desire to attend school divided his hometown was allowed to join his kindergarten class a day late. The delay came because the board of the Atascadero Unified School District first had to vote to let Ryan Thomas join 18 other kindergartners at Santa Rosa Road Elementary School, Principal Chuck Wilbur said. “I’m extremely happy. We’ve finally won all the battles and the war,” Ryan’s father, Robin Thomas, 28, said. Thomas said the board ordered school officials to set up a separate, locked toilet stall for Ryan, which will be unlocked by a classroom assistant. The children will stop the traditional practice of sharing pencils and will get lessons on hygiene, but otherwise school for Ryan will be normal, he said.