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

Wed Mar 9 22:39:59 UTC 2011

Yay!  Glad that kid finally won the right to bring his service dog to 
school.  Yes, great article.

Lyn and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Julie J" <julielj at neb.rr.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2011 5:36 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] FW: [Nfbf-l] Fw: HILLSBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT AGREES 
TOACCESS FOR AUTISMSERVICE DOG

>I think this might just be the first news article that I've read that 
>doesn't have any obvious legal errors or inaccurate information. It was 
>also enough info about the situation for me to understand the story.  The 
>journalist should get some sort of medal!
>
> Julie
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Sherrill O'Brien" <sherrill.obrien at verizon.net>
> To: "Nagdu" <nagdu at nfbnet.org>; "FLAGDU List" <flagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 4:44 PM
> Subject: [nagdu] FW: [Nfbf-l] Fw: HILLSBORO SCHOOL DISTRICT AGREES TO 
> ACCESS FOR AUTISMSERVICE DOG
>
>
>> 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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