Lawsuit: Pa. school rejects boy for having HIV

PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia-area teen says he was denied admission to the private boarding school connected with the Hershey chocolate company because he's HIV-positive.

A discrimination suit filed Wednesday in Philadelphia federal court claims the Milton Hershey School violated anti-discrimination laws in denying the 13-year-old's request for admission to the school for disadvantaged students. The AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania filed the lawsuit for the unidentified boy.

School officials say the boy was denied admission to protect the other 1,850 students in grades pre-K through 12.

Founded in 1909 by the late chocolate maker Milton Hershey, the school educates low-income and socially disadvantaged students for free. It's financed by the Milton Hershey School Trust, which also holds the controlling interest in The Hershey Co.