Massachusetts Service Dog Banned From High School
Can anyone explain how these officials can ban this dog from working with his boy?
Thanks to Playfuls.com for this article.
Deaf Child’s Dog Banned From Mass. School
When 14-year-old John Cave arrives in the Massachusetts town of Princeton, the deaf teen’s new service dog will not be welcome in his new high school.
New York Newsday reported that officials at Princeton’s W. Tresper Clarke High School decided to ban the trained Labrador retriever, whose name is Simba, because of state and federal regulations.Nancy Cave petitioned school officials and an area assemblyman to alter the school’s decision based on the theory that the child and dog need the school time to form a cohesive relationship.
“It’s a civil rights issue,” she explained. “And the most important thing about the relationship between an assistance dog and his disabled partner is bonding. They need to be together 24 hours and seven days a week.”
The teenager does receive some hearing benefits from the use of electronic cochlear implants, but still needs the dog in order to appropriately hear both smoke alarms and nearby cars, the paper said.
Just to play devils advocate here…..
Does anyone concider the well being of the other students at this school? Maybe allergies to dog?
I am all for dogs working to help people! Don’t get me wrong but there are going to be times and places our furry friends just aren’t able to cut it.
Those are very fair questions to ask and issues to raise. And I appreciate you making us look at the other side.
But couldn’t those same questions be raised every time a service dog is allowed access into a building? What is different about this situation that makes it necessary to deny the dog access to the school?
Aside from the fact that bonding isn’t a valid reason for having a service animal, which seems to be the mother’s focal point, the questions you raised would most likely not stand up in a court of law since the American Disabilities Act, Department of Justice, and Equal Employment Oportunity Comittee all indicate that in the majority of cases were someone tries to deny a service animal access to a public place because of possible problems with allergies, the service animal would have greater priority then the possiblity of allergies being triggered in other people since allergies are generally not a disability. Where someone who needs a service animal has one because they are disabled either physically or mentally according to ADA guidelines. Allergies are generally an impairement much like how the ADA looks at people who wear glasses … lots of people wear them because of an impairment, but not everyone who wears glasses is considered to be disable.
If the mother is stating the teen needs to be with the dog 24/7 primarily for bonding purposes, bonding is not a task, and therefor the dog could be viewed as a pet, but if the mother were to focus on specific tasks the dog would enable the teen to do that he couldn’t do otherwise without the dog, then technically the dog should be permitted into the school, though the school could claim undue hardship and state the service dog would interfere with the fundamentals of the school causing disruption, and impeededing other students from being able to learn, which would be a shaky yet possible legal reason for barring the dog from school. In general though schools are considered public places unless they are run by a church of somekind and are a private school in which case if it were a private church run school, the school could bar the dog from it being as churches are one of the few places that are legally allowed to deny access to service animals.
There is a lot that article doesn’t say, and what it does say isn’t enough to really say that the dog should or shouldn’t be permitted to accompany the teen at school, so right now from what I can tell the article leaves the decision sitting on a fence teetering back and forth and could easily go either way depending on what other factors there are that weren’t mentioned in the article.
An allergy to ONE DOG…what about the second hand smoke students breathe… or more often than not are allergic to… but ONE DOG…???? Have you ever smelled the abounding marijuana smoke? ……. i don’t think that ONE DOG could cause as MUCH DAMAGE as the smoke/ drugs/ pollutants/ that students have to tolerate on a day to day basis . There are allergy pills. No one has to get ‘that close’ to the dog. in fact…..working dogs in general are not supposed to be bothered. Give me a break….!
I’m sorry! What school do/did you go to?
Joy,
I suffer from severe breathing issues and am going to have to say the allergy issue is big.
It is one thing to be exposed to a dog for a few minutes 10 - 15 or so….But to sit in a class room with this dog for 90 minutes! That is pure torture to a child with allergies!.
~clearing of throat~
Dr. Janet Herrmann?
I am sorry I also work in a high school and in 5 years have yet to smell the “abounding” marijuana smoke!!!?? What school district are you in? WOW!
This is terribly upsetting. I too needed my first service dog to make it through middle and then high school as a teenager. It was never an issue and everyone was very welcoming to me and my dog, an English Setter.
Allergies as the excuse? Give me a break. People who use allergies as their excuse for not wanting service dogs around seriously have their priorities out of whack. What about the well-being of this student? He relies on his hearing dog to make it through the day, and yes, that special bond is a terrible thing to break! If Miss Ginger cannot see me, she worries because she KNOWS that something could happen to me and that would have to alert me.
There had better be some action taken on this. No one complains when Miss Ginger flies on airplanes with me, and that is a more confined place than a busy school.
Grr…
Schools, I believe, are one of the hardest places to get accomodations from. Many students with disabilities struggle simply to get the needed accomodations like notetakers, tape recorders, and an understanding with the teacher for extended transitioning time between classes. It seems like while there are districts out there that are more than willing accomodate students, some to a wonderfully successful degree, there are also districts out there that are not willing to make *any* accomodations, even when they are required to under law (and it doesn’t matter if a dog is involved in the accomodations or not). Likely, this school has gotten away with denying or defering accomodations (for many students) for a good long time, and wasn’t planning on changing its ways when a dog came into the picture. Schools like this need something else added to their curriculm - civil rights of students with disabilities education and enforcement.
I’d have to say that I believe the dog should be allowed to stay, but I can see the points from those that don’t don’t think it should. Myself not being allergic to dogs, and never having met someone who is, I don’t know how bad the allergies can be, Still though, it seems to me like the school could make special arrangements to accomodate those people. At 14, the kid is probably old enough to be out of the single classroom environment. If someone is allergic to the dog, just make sure they don’t have the same class schedule. If they are in the same class, make sure they sit away from the dog.
There are ways to get around allergies. At any rate, the vast majority of people in this world don’t have dog allergies, so I doubt it would be a problem.
In the school’s defence, arrangments could be made so the kid does not need the dog at school, with staff looking out for him. However, that doesn’t take into account his way to and from school, and the bonding is a major issue.
I know my dogs worry sick when I go to work, and they aren’t service dogs trained to watch me for anything. I can’t imagine what it must be like for a service dog to be away froms it’s charge.
The law is clear on this. The school does NOT have the right to ban any service dog. I hope someone contacts the National Service Dog Center for a card which explains the law.
As I understand it if federal and state or local law conflict , the law that provides greater protection for the individual with the disability will prevail.
Delta Society
National Service Dog Center
425 226-7357
http://www.deltasociety.org
I do have allergies and would be happy to sit at the back of the class or the front of the class away from the allergen and choose not to be around the dog at all. Is it really all that complicated. Heck People on the street walk around dogs all the time. Being within 10 feet of the dog wouldn’t cause a problem. And Yes bonding is part of the service dogs training!
I find this all very interesting. I am currently a teacher at a Massachusetts High School. I am in a position where I teach a schedule where it is mandatory for all Freshman to enroll in my class (It’s a semester course that is required for all)
I am severely allergic to dogs. If I am in a room with them, within 5-10 minutes, my eyes have swelled up, my throat itches and I go into sneezing fits. I cannot go into houses where there are dogs, even if they are in another room. I’ve even had problems where I’ve been to places where a dog hasn’t lived for a few years, but traces of dogs are still around. It’s horrible. And the worst part is, I love the animals.
If this student were to be in my room, I’d have to leave, and have the room cleaned (If it were a daily occurance), so, essentially, I could’t teach this student, and, as there are no other teachers who teach this course, this student would have to have his schedule changed, or a tutor would have to be hired because of my allergies.
I’m all for him having his dog with him, and I’d love to be there to see them work together, but having my own disability (and it really is, my body shuts down around the animals, I can’t function after a while) would make this a difficult situation. I know it’s a rare case, but it is still there. And I’m not about to medicate myself for one student. Just the other side of the coin for you!
~clearing of throat~
Dr. Janet Herrmann?
I am sorry I also work in a high school and in 5 years have yet to smell the “abounding� marijuana smoke!!!?? What school district are you in? WOW!
THE 12/29 article is written by Dr. Janet Herrmann, the second article with the question mark was NOT written BY ME..only a quote/ using the word abounding..:!!!!!!
I to have allergies, sometimes so severe that I have to use an Epipen and be transported to the emergency room. As a student I would work to arrange my schedule so that I was no where near the dog and I didn’t sit anywhere he may have sat with the dog. But I don’t think it is fair to deny him his dog.
[...] January 9th, 2007 A school has decided that John Cave, a Deaf teen, does not need his assistive dog with him at school. For an interesting discussion on another blog, Dogster, click here. [...]
the school gave the kid an interpretter, i dont think the dog is needed for classes. especially since he can hear pretty well with his implants. on cnn the kid said he’d recently failed a test because he was too busy puting his attention on the dog to study. of course, as he said this his mother tried desperately to “shush” him.
either way, the dog is for “bonding” and alerting the kid to things he might not see or hear. thats all well and good, but useless in a school. if he was blind or suffered from some other disablity that would make getting around difficult without the dog then by all means let him bring it to school.
after watching the interview on cnn, it seems like the dog is just a glorified pet. i was glad to hear the story revisitted this morning, where a lawyer said the kids case was most likely not strong enough to win.
This is a sad story, but it in not taking place in Princeton, NJ!
This story comes from Westbury, NY at W. Tresper Clarke High School in the East Meadow Union Free School District. The School Board’s stand on the issue can be found HERE:
If a person”s allergy is so severe (As is my husband’s allergy) merely being near another person who has been in contact with an animal will cause an reaction. Should we ban all pet owners from school as well? The law is simply on the John Cave’s side. Arrange the seating accordingly to minimize contact.
Banning a service dog (or any other service animal) is prohibited by law! I am a disabled teen myself - at least I check federal laws. My mother uses a service dog named Misty as well. It doesn’t matter how old you are or where you are in the USA - service dogs are allowed in public places by law. Just like my fair school of Chittenango High School, this school is being discriminatory towards disabled kids, that’s for sure. Simba should be allowed in school and allergic kids and staff be told to stay their distance
I have posted on several webistes, about the issue of Simba, and have posted the New York state laws as well. It is against the law to prohibit the service dog from schoo, and no, the allergies are considered by state law, not to be considered into weather or not, Simba is allowed in school.
I have several friends that are priniciples of schools, both elem. and H. schools. They all say the same thing, and that is the Caves will win, it will take some time tho. All these principles, also have service dogs or therapy dogs in schools. The allergies can be worked out, by shifting those students around to different classes, and simply not touching the dog. Remember, Simba will be working with John, so he is not to be petted. Dillon, who is the Spuer, will be in trouble that is no doubt. Also, many school in New York, who have service dogs in them, are arguing that Clarke is just being difficult about it. There was even a blind teacher in another New York school, that has a guide dog with her, and the dog has been there for the past 14 years. Other students in schools in New York, have also said they do not mind having the service dogs there, just to get over it, even the ones with allergies, say they just stay away and they are fine. Terri
[...] Thanks to Newsday.com for this update on Simba and the East Meadow School District. Here is a link to the original blog post on this subject. Judge: Dog Simba must stay out of school BY CARL MACGOWAN AND JOHN VALENTI [...]
I am appalled by the actions of this school Thanks to Newsday for covering this. However, on the forum that is associated with this story.
http://www.topix.net/forum/city/east-meadow-ny/TK0N59NED3R8EA3I0/p27#lastPost
There are animal activist at this website on the forum. One name Ash from Hawaii, is saying all people who have service dogs should not be allowed to have a driving license. Howevr, these activist are having people agree with them. If anyone has time, please visit this site and let service dog owners express their feelings. This is a local forum and many parents have a voice at this school.
Jenca fails to understand the bonding issue. A service dog and its partner need to be highly bonded for the partner ship to work. It just doesn’t work for the dog to be away from its partner half the waking day.
I have been highly involved as a volenteer with a dog guide school since 1991 plus other service dog programs. The bonding is highly important.
I get so mad at these people saying that a person with allergies can ‘deal’ with ONE dog. My daughter is at a school with a therapy dog and she has SEVERE allergies to dogs. I have asked them to keep the dog away from her and now they cannot take the dogs into her classrooms so meaning all the kids know it is because of her and she is excluded. She comes home with severe migraines and conjunctivitis so badly she cannot see because of the allergies. She is on currently 4 preventive allergy/asthma medicines so don’t say that an allergy pill will do the trick. I understand someone with a disabilty but also people need to take a step back and realize how severe allergies are. And to Dr. Janet Herrmann you must not be a real Dr. because if you were you would know that with a child their allergies can get worse and everytime my daughter is exposed to a dog the reaction is worse which can cause death especially because this triggers her asthma. You all need to think about the other side before you make comments on something you know obviously nothing about.