[blindlaw] School turns away deaf student with dog

[Bad Penguin]

Long Island, New York

Cops called when deaf student brings dog to school
BY CARL MACGOWAN
Newsday Staff Writer

January 3, 2007, 11:16 PM EST

A deaf Westbury boy's attempt to bring his assistance dog to school 
Wednesday resulted in an exchange of harsh words when police were called, 
the boy's mother said.

No arrests were made, but Nancy Cave said her son, John, was shaken by the 
incident. Still, she is planning to have her son and the dog attend school 
together today -- with or without permission from East Meadow School 
District officials.

"This is emotionally traumatic for him. He doesn't want to go to school," 
Cave said of her 14-year-old son, who picked up the dog last week from a 
Massachusetts training center. "All I wanted to do was give my son one more 
step toward independence."

The Caves are locked in a long-running battle with East Meadow officials 
over whether John can bring the dog, Simba, to W. Tresper Clarke High 
School, where John attends ninth grade. School officials previously had told 
the family that John doesn't need the dog to attend classes. The Caves 
believe John and Simba must bond around the clock so that the dog can work 
most effectively as an assistance dog, trained to alert a deaf child to 
potential danger such as fire or smoke alarms and cars.

The Caves should obtain permission from the district's committee on special 
education before bringing the dog to school, East Meadow Superintendent 
Robert Dillon said Wednesday.

"There is a process, and there are protocols and we just wish that they 
would be followed," he said.

Nancy Cave and her son wanted to acclimate Simba to the school Wednesday 
morning before classes started. When they entered the building, Cave said, 
officials asked her to leave and called Nassau County police.

"We were sort of verbally accosted by the principal and the assistant 
principal," she said. She admitted using vulgar language while talking to 
Principal Timothy Voels.

"I felt harassed, I felt intimidated, I felt they were stalking me," she 
said. "Even though I said two bad things, I felt threatened."

Dillon declined comment on the incident. A police spokesman confirmed the 
incident but added, "It's not a police matter."

At her request, Nancy Cave said, police researched laws governing assistance 
dogs, and then she took John and Simba home. State law says public 
facilities cannot bar disabled people with service dogs, while federal law 
requires facilities to change policies banning service animals.

Simba obeyed orders from John during the visit, Nancy Cave said.

"He behaved himself impeccably," she said, "which is more than can be said 
for the adults, including myself, I might add."

The Caves received support from students and some teachers, Nancy Cave said. 
She said she did not tell officials that she planned to return today with 
Simba.

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