[nagdu] Response from TSA

Thu Aug 12 12:05:24 UTC 2010

Dear All,
    As you know, I wrote to the transportation Security Administration (TSA) concerning the sometimes arbitrary, inconsistent manner in which those of us who use service dogs are screened at airport security. The text of my message to them and their reply to me are pasted below.

fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users
National Federation of the Blind
813-626-2789
President at NAGDU.ORG
HTTP://NAGDU.ORG

July 20, 2010
My name is Marion Gwizdala. I am the President of the National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU), a division of the National Federation of the Blind.
The National Association of Guide Dog Users hosts an email list designed for subscribers to exchange information concerning the use of service animals
and network with other blind people who use guide dogs.
Recently, there has been a discussion on our list concerning the arbitrary manner in which personnel with the Transportation Security Administration deals
with service animals at security check points in airports. This discussion has led to a variety of anecdotes concerning this issue from one person who
asserts that TSA personnel completely destroyed the guide dog's gear to another who asserts that a security officer performed a cavity search on her dog.
I am writing to ask if specific protocol/policies exist for how service animals are cleared through airport security. If such protocol exists, I would like
to have a copy to share with my constituents. If no such protocol exists, I would like to offer the input and resources of the National Association of
Guide Dog Users and the National Federation of the Blind in the development and dissemination of such policies.
Please respond to me either via email or telephone. My contact information is below my signature.
Respectfully yours,
Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users
National Federation of the Blind
813-626-2789
Blind411 at Verizon.net
Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users
National Federation of the Blind

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
 Office of Disability Policy and Outreach 
701 South 12th Street

W3-306N
Arlington, VA 20598

August 4, 2010

Via E- Mail 

Ms. Marian Gwizdala

blind411 at verizon.net

Complaint Number: ODPO-CON-10-37

Dear Ms. Gwizdala:

Thank you for contacting the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Office of Disability Policy and Outreach (ODPO) regarding TSA's screening procedures for service animals.  You state that as President of the National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU) you have received many comments/complaints from members of your organization regarding their feelings that TSA Officers (TSOs) screen their service animals in an arbitrary manner. You inquire whether TSA has established applicable protocols, and cite several anecdotes where TSA personnel appear to have acted inappropriately. 

Please know that TSA takes concerns such as these very seriously.  One of our key objectives is to ensure that all passengers consistently receive professional and courteous processing at the checkpoint, while maintaining our high level of security.  We train the TSOs to conduct screenings with professionalism and to treat all passengers with dignity and respect.  We regret that you and your members feel we did not meet these standards.

In March 2002, to further these objectives, TSA established a program for screening of persons with disabilities and their associated equipment, mobility aids, and devices.  Our program covers all categories of disabilities (mobility, hearing, visual, and hidden).  As part of that program, we established a coalition of over 70 disability-related groups and organizations to help us understand the concerns of persons with disabilities and medical conditions.  There are a number of organizations in the coalition, such as the Guide Dogs for the Blind, for whom the screening of service animals is an important issue.

TSA has also worked diligently to train our TSOs on how to carefully and gently screen persons with disabilities and persons with medical conditions and their related equipment.  TSA does have established standard operating procedures for the screening of people who are blind or visually impaired and use a service dog.  While these individuals will not be eligible for screening using Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT), they can undergo Walk Through Metal Detector (WTMD) screening, or in the alternative a pat-down.  A pat-down may be conducted in a private screening area by an officer of the same gender.

If the individual and their dog go through the WTMD together and alarm, both of them will have to undergo additional screening. 

1.      To resolve the passenger alarm, the Transportation Security Officer (TSO) will first use a hand held metal detector (HHMD).  Every time the HHMD alarms, the (TSO) will pat-down the area to verify that no prohibited items are present.   

2.      Since the dog's harness most likely contains metal, the TSO will need to physically inspect the dog and its belongings (collar, harness, leash, backpack, vest, etc.) in order to resolve the alarm.  Although the dog's harness will not be removed, other items that s/he may be carrying such as a backpack are subject to screening. 

If the person and their dog walk though the WTMD individually and one or both of them alarm, additional screening will be conducted as described above on whoever causes the alarm.  TSOs have also been trained to ask permission before touching the animal, and request the passenger's help in controlling the animal during the pat-down and hand-held metal detector screening. Any carry-on items not being carried by the service animal will be x-rayed or physically inspected and returned to the passenger once they are cleared.

I am very much interested in hearing more about the problems encountered by your members, and would really appreciate hearing from you/them as soon as something they think is wrong occurs.  Receiving this type of information fairly contemporaneously with the events in question allows for a better investigation of the complaint, and allows us to better target any remedial training needed by our officers.  In addition, I frequently am able to resolve the matter even before the person takes their return flight home. 

If you are interested in becoming a member of TSA's Disability Coalition described above, please contact me.  Teleconferences are convened quarterly and the Coalition meets in person once a year.  The Coalition provides a forum for member organizations to bring their constituent's concerns to policy makers within TSA. I hope you will give serious consideration to joining, and look forward to working more closely with you and your organization in the future to address their concerns related to the screening of their guide dogs and service animals.

Thank you for bringing these matters to our attention.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Basha, J.D.

Director

Office of Disability Policy and Outreach

Office of the Special Counselor

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: clip_image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 5220 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nagdu_nfbnet.org/attachments/20100812/9bd68e9c/attachment.jpg>