This paper focuses on new developments in medicine and in the courts that may have crucial implications for existing policies related to the educational placement of the HIV-infected student. Salient medical and legal aspects related to the educational placement and school attendance of HIV-infected children are reviewed. Recommendations for policy-making are discussed including: establishing a resource network for disseminating and implementing new information; the awareness of pertinent state education, civil rights, and public health law; knowledge of existing public and educational policies at national, state, and local levels; and issues regarding the infected child's right to confidentiality. Considerations related to the unique aspects of the rural setting are reviewed. The paper also reviews results of a research study that includes: (1) medical evidence supporting decision-making policies on admission or exclusion of HIV-infected students in the public schools; (2) an examination of state anti-discrimination laws, state special education laws, state communicable disease laws, and state and selected local policy statements in 16 states; (3) an analysis of the relevant legal issues of the Education of the Handicapped Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and constitutional issues pertinent to educational placement of HIV-infected children; and (4) case law "in point" or "analogous" to the issues addressed. (TES)