One hundred forty-seven parents of children in grades one through six and 53 elementary school teachers were surveyed to determine perceptions of children's knowledge and awareness about AIDS and attitudes regarding AIDS education in the early school years Results suggest that both parents and teachers underestimated children's awareness of and knowledge about AIDS Both groups agree that AIDS education is important for elementary school children and that the family should be the primary source of AIDS education Implications for the design and implementation of AIDS education programs are discussed.