This study is intended to provide an analytical framework to assist educational decisionmakers of sub-Saharan Africa and their partners in assessing the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on educational quality. The practical value of the framework is to provide guidelines in setting educational policy priorities and designing planning strategies to support national efforts in reaching the Education for All goals. Evidence of the impact of the HIV/AIDS on educational quality is still limited and too often anecdotal. While more systematic research is required, enough information is currently available to draw some implications for policy development. The author argues that the theme of educational quality is particularly appropriate for developing policy responses to HIV/AIDS in the education sector, because the responses must be multi-faceted and holistic to take into account the complex factors that mediate the achievement of educational quality. A focus on a single factor, such as teacher supply or curriculum, would be insufficient to protect the education sector from the impact of the epidemic. In essence, the effort to prevent and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS in the education sector must be mainstreamed in strategies to promote and protect educational quality.