Students Shared Needle for Science Class Lesson

Dozens of New Bedford students were told to undergo AIDS and hepatitis tests after their teacher had them share a needle to draw blood during science class, said a school official.

The needle-sharing occurred more than a year ago, when a junior high school science teacher asked for volunteers from his seventh-grade class to draw blood for a microscope slide.

School officials did not learn about the incident until last month when one of the students spoke up after watching a video that warned of the risk of sharing drug needles.

School officials contacted the teacher, who had retired in June 2001. The teacher recalled that 20 to 25 of the 97 seventh-graders he taught that year participated in the experiment.

Officials were not considering taking disciplinary action against the teacher.