[nagdu] Indiana service dog law, help requested

sblanjones11 sblanjones11 at sbcglobal.net
Mon Feb 16 20:19:28 UTC 2009


Rebecca,
I absolutely agree that marital status, etc. are not, and should not be
issues in this case!
Susan & Rhoda
 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Pickrell, Rebecca M (IT)
Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 5:21 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Indiana service dog law, help requested

I'll start by saying that what happened in this school district is wrong. 
I also want to know why the mother's being single is emphasized? What does
her martial status or lackthereof have to do with this legislation?

The fact is, she's got a kid in the school system, and she needs to know
what is going on there. Even if she did not have a child, she is a taxpayer,
and has the right to know where her money is going, and to speak on the
issues she chooses. 
And, even if she was against service dogs for children in the school system,
what difference does that make? 
These details are irrivalant. 
What do ffolks have to say? Her position on the issue, her relationships
with adults, and her child are nonissues. Why are they braught into this
discussion? 
  

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jenine Stanley
Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2009 11:07 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [nagdu] Indiana service dog law, help requested

The following note comes from Kacie Weldy, a GDF grad who is needing to get
the word out about this pending legislation. Please read and pass along to
appropriate parties. 

Kacie writes: 

This bill is the direct result of several recent occurances, where a single
mother was not allowed access to a school board meeting in the carmel Clay
school system.  She had come to the school board meeting to protest the
removal of two service dogs that were for attending students.  When refused
access to the meeting, she displayed her id, the dog was wearing his
identification jacket, and even though she and another person was there read
and presented copies of the ADA, she was still denied access.  
 
After the police were called to the scene, she was finally admitted to the
back of the room, after the sign-up sheet had been passed around for those
wishing to make public comments.  She was unable to hear or understand what
was being said or who was speaking at any given time.  
 
A federal lawsuit has been filed for this violation, and would be filed
under state legislation, however, since Indiana law currently defines that
service animals are to be allowed in places that provide services to the
public, the school does not fall into this category, as it only offers
services to a limited portion of the public.  Thus the current language of
the law, under state regulations allow schools to exclude service animals
from schools.
 
A second situation involves a lady in Ft. Wayne, IN, who works for Do It
Best hardware store headquarters there in Ft. Wayne.  She contacted her
Human resources dept., notifying them that she would be applying for a guide
dog.  When she received acceptance to the school, she notified the HR dept
again, and they told her congratulations.  Then when she requested the
vacation time off, a full four weeks, they approved the time off and again
showed thier support for her.  However, when she returned home and showed up
for work on the first day after receiving her dog, the VP of human resources
stood in the doorway of the building and refused to allow her access to her
employment.  They told her that she could not enter the building whatsoever
with the dog.  
 
Do It Best has since set her up against her suggestions, set up a full
office within her home, installing phone lines, purchasing a new computer,
and installing a T link in order to provide "reasonable accomodations".
This lady has been "provided: these things to accomodate her, but she is not
allowed to step foot on the building premises of her employer with her dog.
She has even been notified that she is not allowed to bring the dog to
company sponsored picnics and functions that are for the employees.
 
Do It Best hardware stores themselves are all completely assistance dog
friendly.  The company however, has used the loophole within the state
statute, that because the Headquarters office does not serve the general
public, that they are exempt from the state regulation of having to provide
their employee access to their facilities.  They have under the ADA though,
provided "reasonable accomodations".
 
This situation very much concerns me as a guide dog handler, as this statute
currently is not up to the level of the federal law.  The way the IN statute
reads right now, the schools can deny me access to my children's schools on
the basis of my guide dog, should they want to, and unless I have the
financial ability to fight this on a federal level, I have no choice but to
back down on this.  And that REALLY bothers me as a mother of three young
kids either in or soon to be in elementary school.
 
So what you can do...  
 
This piece of legislation that is being proposed can be read and followed
here:
 
<http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/bill>
http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/bill
<http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/billwatch/billinfo?year=2009&session
=1&r
equest=getBill&docno=1603#latest_info>
watch/billinfo?year=2009&session=1&request=getBill&docno=1603#latest_inf
o
 
The following committee is the one that will be hearing this bill and I
sincerely and strongly urge you to contact especially the Chair of this
committee and House speaker Pat Bauer, as well as the rest of this
committee, voicing how important this bill is.  The more people that are the
actual consituants of these committee members, the more it will help.  So if
you know anyone that is within these districts, please, please have them
contact these committee members below at the link I've provided to contact
these gentlemen.
 
Labor and Employment Committee
Rep. David Niezgodski, Chair: South Bend District 7   
Rep. Chuck Moseley,Vice Chair:Portage District 10 Rep. Dan Leonard, RMM:
District 50 Rep. Doug Gutwein: District 16 Rep. John Bartlett:
Indianapolis District 95 Rep. Matt Bell: District 83 Rep. Clyde Kersey:
Terre Haute District 43 Rep. Gerald Torr: District 39 Rep. Dennie Oxley:
Taswell District 73 Rep. Greg Steuerwald: District 40 Rep. Russ
Stilwell: Boonville District 74 Rep. Dennis Tyler: Muncie  District 34
 
How to contact committee members:
http://www.in.gov/cgibin/legislative/contact/contact.pl
<http://www.in.gov/cgibin/legislative/contact/contact.pl> 
 
Contacting House speaker-Pat Bauer:
<http://www.in.gov/surveytool/public/sur>
http://www.in.gov/surveytool/public/sur
<http://www.in.gov/surveytool/public/survey.php?name=bauer_comments_form
_1>
vey.php?name=bauer_comments_form_1
 
Currently, the bill is waiting to go to hearing.  As of this morning, the
bill was not very high on the priority list because of it being a budget
year and we were being told that it wasn't going to make it to a hearing and
thus die for this session.  We just received word tonight though, that Rep.
Leonard has received word from Chairman Niezgodski that he would hear the
bill in the House Committee on Labor and Employment.  The bill will mostly
get a hearing this coming week however the date for that hearing has not
been set. Tentatively the date is February 12th. We will not know the exact
date until the day before.  
 
So please, please send in your emails, make the phone calls, and please help
me gather the support we need to get this passed!
 
Thank you all soooo much for your help on this!
Sincerely,



Kacie Weldy & Rei
Vice President ~ Indiana Deaf Blind Association
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indba/>  

Read here about my journey with my guide dogs and life:
http://hearnoevil-seenoevil.blogspot.com
<http://hearnoevil-seenoevil.blogspot.com/> 

 Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com


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