A student with HIV is to receive a $700,000 settlement from a Pennsylvania school under an agreement reached between the U.S. Justice Department and the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania this week.

The money will be paid by the Milton Hershey School, a private K-12 institution located in Hershey, for allegedly refusing to even consider admitting the student because he is infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.

Representatives of the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania said that HIV is considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires all public accommodations such as the Milton Hershey School to ensure equal access to facilities, goods and services such accommodations provide.

Under the settlement agreement, the school must pay $700,000 to the boy, who has been identified in court documents only under a pseudonym, and his mother; adopt and enforce a policy that will prevent discrimination and allow for equal opportunity for prospective students with disabilities, including those with HIV; and to train staff and school administrators on the requirements of the ADA.

The age of the student was not disclosed in the lawsuit or in the settlement agreement.