Wisconsin governor signs HIV testing bill

Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle on Friday signed a bill that will allow teachers in the state to require students to take HIV antibody tests if the teachers are exposed to their blood. In March the legislature approved the bill, which adds teachers, school support staff, and other school personnel to the list of people who are allowed to force someone to take an HIV test if exposed to that person's blood while on the job, which includes firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians, and health care professionals. State senator Carol Roessler proposed the bill after learning about a case in which a teacher was exposed to a student's blood but was unable to learn if the student was HIV-positive because the student's parents refused to consent to an HIV antibody test. The bill was supported by the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association, and Milwaukee Public Schools. Opponents of the law say it could be used to allow teachers to discriminate against gay students by forcing them to be tested for HIV infection.