amended the ADA section on service animals in September 2010. Before that, there were a series of court cases involving service animals, she noted, and districts want to avoid similar litigation. “My research has shown me that the whole idea of service animals


is becoming very popular with parents of children with autism, especially those who elope — or ‘runners.’ It’s a safety concern,” she said. “It’s also a behavior management concern at school.” For example, if a 4-year-old, severely autistic child runs away,


the typical aide cannot catch that child, Jacobs explained, but a German shepherd can. In addition to dogs, miniature horses — not ponies — are permitted as service animals if they meet the designated criteria. Miniature horses range in height from 24 to 34 inches, measured to the shoulders, and generally weigh between 70 and 100 pounds. “It would be discriminatory for a school district to forbid the


service animal if the animal meets certain criteria,” said Jacobs, who regularly presents on this topic at national, state and regional conferences. She said she has become an advocate for service animals


after hearing countless stories of the “amazing” ways they help children, such as alerting the child and adults of an oncoming seizure and providing sensory integration — essentially calming those students who become overstimulated at school. “You can put a weighted vest on a child with austism, or you can


train a dog to lie across his lap, stand up and hug him and even press certain points on his back,” Jacobs continued. “People love animals. It’s also cool. Parents of children with autism are very progressive — they research everything and they are driving this movement.”


A TALE OF FOUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS One of those parents is Gina Hubert. She brought in lawyers


to educate school districts in two different states about ADA requirements for service animals. Four years ago, she was surprised when Wake County (N.C.)


School District had no idea how to handle a request for a service animal to assist her son Tyler, who is autistic. She said his doctor from Duke University wrote a prescription for Dudley, a standard poodle, just as he would for medicine or therapy. In 2009, after relocating to California, the Huberts were better prepared when they brought the same request to Torrance Unified School District. “South High School had never had that request before. I said,


‘Tis is the law, and you are required to make accommodations to allow Tyler to bring his service dog to school,’” said Hubert. “As they were doing research with their attorneys, they denied access to school for almost two months.” Tough TUSD attorneys tried blocking this request, she said


their stance progressed from resistance to acceptance. “Tey designed a policy for this, and they allowed me to work


with them on it,” she said. Hubert noted that if any other student or staff member had


been allergic to or deathly afraid of dogs, the district would have been required to provide another form of transportation to get Tyler and Dudley to and from school, such as a taxi service. “It worked really well having Dudley go to school with Tyler. He


helped Tyler to pay better attention in class and helped shorten the frequency and length of his seizures,” Hubert said.


www.stnonline.com 29


But,


she pointed out one major challenge in the school


environment: the other students. Tey would often pet Dudley and play with him, which goes against service-animal protocol. David Pace, transportation director for Virginia Beach (Va.)


City Public Schools, said accommodating a service dog for one of his students virtually caused no problems — except the one experienced by the Huberts. “All the students, not just those on the bus but also in school,


had to be cautioned not to play with or touch the service dog… which made it difficult,” he said. Pace recalled the Special Needs Department met with the


child’s parents to obtain all pertinent information and then passed along to him the details related to transportation. “When you get special-needs children, there are certain


considerations you have to make with transportation to ensure the safety of everyone involved,” he said. “And that’s what we did.” Veronica Lowe, director of transportation for Frederick County


(Md.) Public Schools, said transportation staff were invited to the IEP meeting where a service animal was requested for a girl. When the bus is in motion, Lowe said the dog simply remains


on the floor in the first seat behind the student’s wheelchair. “It’s definitely been a positive experience, and we haven’t


had any issues,” said Lowe. “We’ve worked closely with the school so the driver and bus assistant are aware of how to work with the animal.” n


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