[Cagdu] FW: "Simba" the hearing assistance dog: not welcome in school?

Tina Thomas tinadt at sbcglobal.net
Mon Mar 12 20:20:39 PDT 2007 

 
 

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Subject: "Simba" the hearing assistance dog: not welcome in school?



References and links at the bottom.

For those who don't know the situation: A judge in Long Island, NY has ruled

that a 14-year-old student does not require the use of a hearing assistance 
dog while attending school, on the basis that the school board itself is 
providing sufficient accommodations already. The school board had already 
indicated to the family that Simba, the dog, was not welcome because it 
might pose health and safety risks to other staff and students. In turn, 
the family filed a lawsuit and sought an injunction against the school 
board, in an effort to have Simba allowed into the classrooms. As I 
understand it, the school has actually called the police when John and pup 
showed up in January. They aren't kidding about this one.

(The $150 million law suit on the part of the family is, perhaps, a little 
over the top in and of itself, but let's ignore the overzealous American 
legal practitioners for the moment, since this is mostly irrelevant to the 
outcome.)

This injunction request was apparently denied primarily on procedural 
grounds: there is still a level of appeal that the family can take within 
the school board, which they didn't bother with prior to filing the court 
case. It seems to me, though, that if the school board was willing to go to 
court and argue against the injunction, appealing it to some other committee

within the board will not yield a very different result. No doubt, this is 
how it appeared to the family as well.

Reasons apparently cited for not allowing the injunction, and ruling that 
Simba was not 'necessary':

- "Simba could be 'disruptive,' citing testimony that students and teachers 
with allergies may be affected by the 2-year-old dog." [1]

- "The district provides the teen with a sign language interpreter, a 
student note-taker, an FM radio transmitter to amplify lectures, a teacher 
who specializes in hearing-impaired students, and extra time to take tests .

John Jr. is well served by the East Meadow School District." [1]

- Other students might distract the dog and cause difficulties and that this

might not be the best environment for a service animal.

- ""Introducing a different accommodation could possibly mean that the least

restrictive environment could be changed by the accommodation," he said, 
invoking the district's legal responsibility to supply as normal an 
environment as possible for disabled students." [2]

In short, the argument is that because academic accommodations are being 
provided within the school, Simba is not required, may pose a distraction 
and change the nature of the educational environment, and is not permitted 
to attend with his master.

This ruling absolutely astounds me. Aside from the ADA itself in the U.S., 
there are also local state-based human rights provisions -- well, maybe. 
Under New York's Human Rights legislation, "primary and secondary schools" 
(as well as colleges and universities, etc.) are actually excluded from the 
list of 'places of public accommodation, resort or amusement.' I'm not 
intimately familiar with the New York human rights codes, and maybe I missed

something, but it does appear, at least on my quick reading of it, that the 
provisions which exist to preclude discrimination on the basis of a guide, 
hearing, or service dog would not apply in this case. because it is in a 
school. (New Yorkers are free to correct me on this if I'm wrong - see 
article 15, section 292, subsection 9, which defines 'place of public 
accommodation,' explicitly excluding such things as "public libraries, 
kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, high schools, academies, 
colleges and universities, extension courses, and all educational 
institutions under the supervision of the regents of the state of New 
York" - see link [3] at the bottom).

The problem I see with the ruling or decision, if it should stand in the 
long run, is that it raises a huge number of questions about the rights of 
service animals in general. One could argue that, once there, a secondary 
student who is blind need not have their guide dog with them either, because

the school could provide one-on-one assistance, guides, etc. Some might say 
that guide dogs provide a different level of service, but that is a matter 
of personal opinion and subjective judgment: the service a guide provides is

perhaps more ongoing and continuous, but it is not our place to decide 
whether or not a hearing assist dog is "equal." That aside, even with a 
guide dog... why, then, could this argument not be extended to other 
establishments, such as movie theatres or restaurants? After all, once 
seated at your table, which a hostess could certainly help with, the dog is 
of no practical use, is it?

The argument was made by the family in this case that Simba's training is 
being adversely effected by the fact that he is separated from his handler. 
The bonding process that was to happen after getting his dog is not 
happening the way that it should, and the dog's training and behaviours and 
mannerisms are proving more troublesome, since he is alone for several hours

out of the day now while John is at school. If we left our guides at home 
for 8 hours a day all the time - what would happen to them? My hunch is 
that their work, too, would suffer.

It may be that the hearing assistance dog is not "vital" or "absolutely 
essential" to his day-to-day functioning in the school environment. Some 
would argue that, since he has full-time sign language interpreters with 
him, they could provide him with any additional auditory information that 
might be necessary. I should think that these interpreters are just that - 
interpreters - and that they do not accompany him through his entire day, 
including trips to the washroom. If an emergency should occur during these 
excursions, his dog could be useful. Do we really want to encourage such 
extreme dependence on others for this student?

The purpose of the dog, is to encourage his long-term independence. The 
same is true for guide dogs. In order for that bond to develop, and the 
dogs' skills and abilities to be maintained, they have to be in active 
service. It is not like a cane, or a wheelchair, which one might "opt" to 
leave at home in situations where it may not be directly helpful. 
Furthermore, there is still the issue of getting to and from school itself: 
that still needs to be done, and the dog is arguably more helpful in those 
situations than at the final destination.

But the same is true for me! Rhodes is a great help, especially in the 
winter, in getting from point A to point B. Once inside point B, though, my 
vision is probably good enough (lighting irregularities notwithstanding) 
that he is less "necessary" (though still helpful) than in the outdoor 
environment.

This is an American case. The injunction request seems to have been denied 
on procedural grounds, and when that avenue is exhausted it may be possible 
to try this route again. Nevertheless, the fact that the judge did not 
clearly send a message to the school board that their decision to deny Simba

was in violation of the rights afforded in the ADA seems worrisome, even in 
a Canadian context. Let us not forget the recent case in Alberta (September 
'06) in which an assistance dog for a person with muscular dystrophy was 
denied access, with the school board citing similar fears about 'allergies 
and a fear of animals'. In this case, they relented with a doctor's note, 
though some would argue that even this shouldn't be necessary, given that 
service animals are (presumably) allowed in all public places. [4]

If the state of New York is any indication, though . are schools, colleges, 
and universities actually considered a 'public place'? If not, are we, as 
guide dog handlers, also vulnerable to this?

References and more information:

[1] 
http://www.newsday.
<http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lidog0228,0,171449.story?tr
ack=mostemailedlink>
com/news/local/longisland/ny-lidog0228,0,171449.story?track=mostemailedlink

[2] 
http://www.newsday.
<http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lidog0223,0,7843757.story?c
oll=ny-top-headlines>
com/news/local/longisland/ny-lidog0223,0,7843757.story?coll=ny-top-headlines

[3] http://www.dhr. <http://www.dhr.state.ny.us/hrlaw.html#292>
state.ny.us/hrlaw.html#292

[4] 
http://www.ctv.
<http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060901/service_dog_up
date_060907/20060907/>
ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060901/service_dog_update_060907/2006
0907/

Take care,

Anthony & Rhodes



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