Tuesday, September 29th, 2015
Today the Justice Department filed suit against a school district for refusing to permit a student with disabilities to attend school with a service dog unless accompanied by a separate handler provided by the student's family. The lawsuit, filed in U. S. District Court in Rochester, New York, alleges that Gates-Chili Central School District violated title II of the ADA. This case involves a student who, due to her disabilities, needs periodic assistance during the school day in handling her service dog - primarily, tethering the dog and issuing limited verbal commands. The District has refused to permit the student's 1:1 aide or other staff to provide the student with this assistance. The Department's complaint seeks a declaratory judgment that the District violated the ADA; an order requiring the District to permit the student to act as the handler of her service dog with assistance from school staff; and compensatory damages for the student and her parent.
Individuals interested in finding out more about the ADA or this lawsuit may call the Justice Department's toll-free
ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 or 1-800-514-0383 (TDD) or access its ADA website at www.ada.gov.
Complaints of disability discrimination may be filed online at http://www.ada.gov/filing_complaint.htm.
Article Credit: U.S. Department of Justice