[nagdu] FW: [Nfbf-l] Fw: HILLSBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT AGREES TO ACCESS FOR AUTISMSERVICE DOG

Tue Mar 8 22:44:19 UTC 2011

Hello all,

We read about this dispute some time ago on the list, and now the school
district is complying with the parents' request that their autistic son be
allowed to be accompanied to school by his service dog. Read on.

Sherrill

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org]On
Behalf Of Carlos J MontasAS
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 5:12 PM
To: NFB of Florida Listserv
Subject: [Nfbf-l] Fw: HILLSBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT AGREES TO ACCESS FOR
AUTISM SERVICE DOG
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

____________________________________________________________________________
__

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Civil Rights Division

MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2011
(202) 514-2007

WWW.JUSTICE.GOV
TDD (202) 514-1888

HILLSBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT AGREES TO ACCESS FOR

AUTISM SERVICE DOG

            WASHINGTON - The Justice Department announced today that the
Hillsboro, Oregon, School District will allow Jordan "Scooter" Givens to
bring his trained autism service dog into his classroom in the Hillsboro
School District.

The highly trained service dog, Madison, provides critical assistance to
Scooter, recognizing when he is about to engage in behavior that might
endanger him, and distracting him to obstruct this type of behavior.  For
nearly three years, Scooter's parents' efforts to get permission for Scooter
to bring Madison to school had been rebuffed.  After U.S. Attorney Dwight
Holton and a senior attorney from the Civil Rights Division met in late
January with the superintendent of the Hillsboro School District regarding
the failure to accommodate the Givens' request, the school district
announced last Friday that it would allow Scooter to be accompanied by the
service dog for a trial period.

The Department of Justice investigation resulted from a complaint filed with
the department by Joel Greenberg, an attorney with Disability Rights of
Oregon (DRO).

"Service animals assist students with disabilities across the United States
every day of the school year without incident," said Thomas E. Perez,
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "Fears,
generalizations and stereotypes are simply insufficient to deny access to a
student's service dog, and the department will continue to provide school
districts with technical assistance to make sure they comply with the ADA."

            "Kids with autism deserve the same opportunity as the rest of us
to grow and learn," said U.S. Attorney Holton.  "Scooter's service dog will
help him grow up to meet his full potential - which is something we should
all expect and hope for our children."  Holton praised the school district's
decision to engage in a trial period with the service dog:  "The last thing
we need is years of litigation, costing the people of Hillsboro hundreds of
thousands of dollars - Scooter is growing up, and doesn't have time for
lawyers to wrangle."

The specific terms and parameters of the assessment period are still being
worked out, but the school board's vote shows a good faith effort to
voluntarily resolve this dispute without more formal action by the
department.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires schools and other public
entities and businesses to allow individuals with disabilities to be
accompanied by service animals. Service animals cannot be denied access
except for the rare instances in which their actual behavior poses a direct
threat to the safety of others or results in a fundamental alteration of the
nature of a program.

Service animals are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the
benefit of individuals with disabilities, including individuals with
neurological disabilities caused by autism.  Because of a recent change in
rules on service animals adopted by the Justice Department, beginning March
15, 2011, service animals will be limited to dogs.  Service dogs perform a
wide variety of functions. Examples of these functions include guiding
persons who are blind or have low vision; alerting individuals who are deaf
or hard of hearing to sounds; warning persons about impending seizures or
other medical conditions; performing a variety of tasks for persons with
psychiatric disabilities, and picking up items, opening doors, flipping
switches, providing physical support and pulling wheelchairs for individuals
with mobility disabilities.

The case is being handled by Jeanine Worden, Deputy Chief of the Civil
Rights Division's Disability Rights Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney
Adrian Brown.

More information about the ADA, rights and responsibilities under the ADA
relating to service animals, and instructions on filing an ADA complaint
with the Justice Department is available at www.ada.gov. This information
includes two publications specifically addressing service animal access:
"ADA Business Brief: Service Animals" and "Commonly Asked Questions About
Service Animals in Places of Business." Those interested in obtaining copies
of these documents or additional information about the ADA can also call the
Justice Department's toll-free ADA Information Line (800) 514-0301 or (800)
514-0383 (TTY).

###

11-285

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE.  IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE USE THE
CONTACTS IN THE MESSAGE OR CALL THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AT
202-514-2007.

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