Cosmetology Board Updates HIV Policy By Casey Bell PGN Staff Writer © 2007 Philadelphia Gay News   In November 2005, the Jean Madeline Aveda Institute cosmetology school denied Edward Gamra admission due to his HIV status. When Gamra, 34, voluntarily disclosed his status, the school informed him that he could not receive a cosmetology license because the state required health certifications for all cosmetology students to ensure they do not have communicable diseases. Gamra contacted the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit, public-interest law firm, and attorney Ronda Goldfein, executive director of the firm, took his case. Goldfein contacted the State Board of Cosmetology and argued that the policy violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination based on any disability, including HIV/AIDS. Last May, the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs revised its policy. “In the big picture, the problem was not immediately the school,” said Goldfein. “The problem is that there are occupational-licensing requirements that are inconsistent with the state and federal laws, and it doesn’t make sense from a public-health perspective. We didn’t want to see the next person see this fuzzy language and wonder if they had to be careful about disclosing their status.” Goldfein met with the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, who agreed to clarify the policy. “The bureau was great,” Goldfein said. “They were very responsive, and they basically said we were right and the requirement was inconsistent with federal anti-discrimination laws.” Specifically, the board will “cease to require compliance with those provisions of the cosmetology law that are in direct conflict with the federal ADA.” Goldfein said that because a lawsuit was never filed, the ALPP was able to have a bigger impact on the situation. “We really believe that our job is to educate and do preventative lawyering to get folks what they need,” she said. “We could easily have filed suit since they incorrectly interpreted the requirements, but what we really needed to do to fix the situation was to clarify the actual requirements.” Goldfein hopes to build on the success of Gamra’s case by starting a new campaign that aims to remove all state occupational licensing requirements that don’t relate to an individual’s ability to do a job. “This is an important issue for anyone with HIV/AIDS who wants to start a new career or go to school,” Goldfein said. “We want these people to be honest about their health limitations. They shouldn’t have to run the risk of not being able to get into certain schools.” After Goldfein brought the policy change to the attention of Jean Madeline, the school offered to admit Gamra and give him a $2,500 tuition refund after graduation. Gamra initially declined the offer, citing the school’s position on people with HIV. “It seemed like it would just create too much negative energy,” he said. “When you look at all the hairdressers and makeup artists in the country, so many of them are gay men. I just wanted these people to know that up until this point, there was very little protecting people with HIV in this industry.” Gamra said that while he’s happy the board changed its requirements, he still feels violated. “I’ve been HIV-positive for 12 years and, thankfully, I’ve been in perfect health,” he said. “But the way they made me feel sick was very offensive.” Despite this, Gamra decided to reapply to the school: He has an interview April 24.