No issue better frames public policy concerns related to the treatment of persons with AIDS than the controversy over the presence of students in public schools who are infected with the AIDS virus. Parents of children with AIDS see no reason why their children should be denied an education, while parents of healthy children are concerned about exposing their children to the disease. Education is not a fundamental right defined in the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court has not held that a constitutional right to education exists, although the court has recognized the necessity of education and the role of education in preparing a person to function in society. The law does require school officials to provide a safe and healthy learning environment. In the face of an incurable, infectious disease, many school officials feel obligated to exclude a child with AIDS from school. The problem becomes who should decide whether a child with AIDS should be excluded from school and what criteria the decisionmaker should consider. As the number of pediatric AIDS cases increases, public school officials will be compelled to develop policies for the education of students affected by the disease. Various authors agree that exclusion policies are ineffective and illegal and that it is the legal community's responsibility to apply existing law or assist in developing policies and laws that protect the rights of children. 24 references and 4 notes (Author abstract modified)