Tex. Districts Confront Media Scrutiny After Disclosure of H.I.V. Test Results

By Peter Schmidt

Several rural school districts in northeast Texas have been besieged by both rumors and reporters following the announcement that 6 of 197 students in one area high school tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.

School operations have been disrupted by the media, and several students infected with the virus reportedly have stopped attending counseling sessions for fear that their identities would be discovered, school officials said last week.

School officials also canceled two junior-varsity basketball games involving Rivercrest High School in Bogata, which the six students attend, because members of the...