In defiance of an order by New York State, Westbury, Long Island principal Timothy Voels last week refused to allow a deaf student to bring his service dog into the school.
John Cave, 15, is a student at W. Tresper Clarke High School, and depends on his service dog, Simba, to help him through the school day.
Cave, a sophomore, has hearing implants but can’t always wear them because they are not comfortable. During the long-running feud with the school, he has been attending without the dog, but by doing so, it can cause the Labrador retriever to forget some of his training.
The principal’s refusal to let Simba go to school with Cave sets the scene for a showdown with the state’s Division of Human Rights, which has told the district that it needs to change its policy on service animals.
In a 21-page ruling released on March 10th by Kumiki Gibson, Commissioner of the Division of Human Rights, Gibson found that students with disabilities were entitled to have a service dog with them in school under NY state law and ordered the district to change its policy immediately.
Cave’s family has been told by the school district that the dog may pose a safety threat to other students.
“State law provides for an absolute right to students with disabilities to use a guide, hearing or service dog in school,” Gibson told the New York Times.
This case has a long history - in January, 2007, the Cave family filed a lawsuit in federal court against the district over the issue, seeking $150 million in damages. The court dismissed the case, saying that the family had not yet pursued all its options with the school district.
The family’s lawyer said last week that if the dog is not allowed inside, the family planned to file a state lawsuit against the district, claiming $150 million for violation of civil rights.
What do you think? Should the dog be allowed inside? Seems like the school is guilty of breaking several state and possibly federal laws in this case.
Let the district and school know how you feel.
Call the school: (516) 876-7450
Call members of the Board of Education:(516) 876-7516
E-mail or call the Superintendent, Leon J. Campo: (516) 478-5776
6 comments ↓
[…] NEW INCIDENT: School on Long Island (NY) refuses to let deaf student bring his service dog on campus, despite a state order to do so. Read more… […]
The school is totally breaking the law by not allowing his service dog. If a blind student needs a guide dog will the school say no to that as well. These dogs are highly trained to obey commands and not interact with anyone other than it’s handler. I don’t understand how the school hasn’t been forced to allow the dog before now. It’s been a year now.
Discrimination. School is wrong and deserves to be sued. I support the family on this one.
How could one even attempt to deny his rights? What kind of closed-minded ideologies brought these people to that kind of conclusion! What are they going to do next…tell the overweight kids that they aren’t allowed to eat?! What an outrage!
What’s completely bogus about the initial court ruling is that after the family goes through all of the administrative channels, only then does it get to proceed with a lawsuit. Bejezzus, won’t the kid have graduated by that time? The damage is done.
I always thought that service dogs were to be admitted to all public buildings by law. Isn’t that part of the Americans with Disabilities Act? I’m not usually a person who agrees with litigation, but that school district is just wrong.
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