Well the story of the assistance dog gaining access to East Meadow, New York High School is far from over. Today marked the family's fourth attempt to have their son, who is hearing impaired, come to school with his assistance dog, Simba. The dog was again turned away.
The family's position is that the dog and the child need to bond for the dog to a function in a role of an assistance dog. The child has limited hearing even with cochlear ear implants and would be in danger in the event of a fire or a fire drill. The school, on the other hand, has not given any rationale for its decision to bar the dog. According to news reports "[t]he district has not explained its decision."
Why is it so hard for the school to articulate a rational reason for barring the dog. The most common reason for many requests by parents is that if we allow you it will "open the flood gates" of others making similar requests; very doubtful that there will be another child seeking to bring a service dog to school. It is certainly a dim prospect that the school will be overrun with service dogs. The school's lack of an articulated response suggests that the school is simply being arbitrary.
The case has now become a media event with newspapers and CNN cameras rolling. From the newspaper story it sounded like the principal barred the entrance [ala George Wallace of another era) which is a small step up from calling the police. Notwithstanding this behavior, my advice is to get the parties into mediation now before this story takes on more of a life of its own, and this case will be in the courts for years to come. If the school district has valid concerns it should state them out of the glare of the media, and the parents should see if there is room to meet the needs of the child, the dog and the school.
Meanwhile despite all of this nonsense, the dog again appears to have acted flawlessly. The humans could take a lesson from this gentle, well mannered, and service-oriented animal.
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