[nagdu] Indiana service dog law, help requested

[Hope Paulos]

I am disagreement with this law.  First of all, I've attended 
many schools (and will be a student teacher in the fall).  I've 
never had a problem.  I can understand about allergies, but 
students know enough to keep their distanceddIf the allergy" 
lifethreatening, I could understand not permitting the dog to 
enter.  I dod't understand the law concerning the headquarters at 
all.  HERE in Maine we have a laboratory that does research on 
mice (vision research etc) and dogs are not allowed in the 
building where the mice are kept.  However, there is one guide 
dog on the premises.  This dog is allowed everywhere except where 
the mice are kept.  This area must be sterile (the technitians 
need to wear masks and gowns).  I hope this law doesn't get 
passed in other states, because if this is the case, I won't be 
able to bring my guiee to work as a Spanish teacher.
Hope and Beignet

> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Pickrell, Rebecca M (IT)" <REBECCA.PICKRELL at ngc.com
>To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog 
Users" <nagdu at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:21:03 -0500
>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#lat
est_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_commen
ts_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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