INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS HERE TO SERVE
WITH AN INCREASING NUMBER OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS USING SERVICE DOGS, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS ARE LEARNING TO BALANCE THEIR NEEDS WITH OTHERS
WRITTEN BY MICHELLE FISHER
well as miniature horses — the only other service animal sanctioned by federal law — must be allowed to go anywhere their handler goes, including schools, buses, taxis, airplanes, stores, restaurants and other public places. Te job of a service dog is to perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, such as preventing students with autism from running off or providing them with physical contact to quell anxiety or seizures. But what if the service dog causes harm or discomfort for another individual? Tis was the quandary facing the Athens City (Ohio) School District when administrators learned the first-grade teacher assigned to Shyanna Gretz was allergic to her service dog. Te teacher’s physician advised that it would be detrimental to her health to be in the same room as the black Labrador Retriever. On the first day of school, Charla Gretz was unhappy when she was told her daughter could not attend Morrison-Gordon Elemen- tary School because of this conflict and would be transferred to go to an allergy-free teacher at East Elementary. Gretz said the change would be too disruptive for Shyanna and would mean a longer bus ride. Shyanna’s autism includes being overwhelmed by sensory issues and not coping well with change. Fortunately, Shyanna’s parents reached an agreement with the
W
Athens school district on how to accommodate both her service dog and the special-education teacher with a severe allergy to dog dan- der. Shyanna would enroll in the Athens district next year and this year return to Beacon School, which she had attended previously. Melinda Jacobs, Esq., an expert in special-education law, noted that
teachers with disabilities due to allergies, “a physical impairment that substantially limits a major life activity,” are also protected by Section 504 of the ADA and cannot be subjected to discrimination. “So, school districts are between the proverbial ‘rock and a hard
place’ while navigating these service dog requests. It seems like the Ohio case was settled to the satisfaction of both parties, and that is always the best result for everyone,” said Jacobs. But, if Shyanna’s parents had refused the contingency plan, the
school district would have been required to balance the needs of each affected party while providing the child with appropriate education services. “I am advising my clients to consider moving a teacher rather than a student in cases like this, to avoid legal challenges such as the Ohio case. But, this area of the law is unclear and will certainly be the subject of future litigation to define the parameters of the law,” Jacobs added.
16 School Transportation News February 2014
hile students and parents have a right to decide whether a service dog is needed on the bus, exercis- ing that right can be a challenge when the animal’s presence interferes with the rights of other people.
Te American With Disabilities Act is clear that service dogs, as
£ Martin Neubauer adopted his service dog, Hammer, from Custom Canines a few years ago, gaining much-needed assistance in the educational setting — and every other setting, according to his mother, Vannessa.
HAMMER’S FIRST TRIP TO THE BUS STOP
“We have had Hammer about a month now. Our first morning with him, we took him to the bus stop with Martin. Martin said he wanted him to “get used to standing out there for the next school year.” Martin normally hangs back (but) … as kids started showing up, Martin took Hammer and walked to the group of kids and started to introduce his new dog to everyone. He never does this! It was so cool to watch him be the one to initiate the contact this time.”
—Vannessa Neubauer Source:
Customcanines.org
BUSES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES Eric Young, superintendent at the Beacon School, said the
transition went smoothly for both Shyanna and her beloved dog, Spring, mainly because of the communication and training provided by her mom, Charla, who worked with staff the first few weeks. She discussed how to manage and handle the dog with Shyanna’s school
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