NBC Bay Area: PHI’s Jan Garrett on Service Animals & the ADA

“Service dogs have been found to be beneficial for children with developmental disorders, providing safety and assistance with daily tasks. However, a San Jose family is in dispute with their son’s school over the use of their dog during school drop-offs and pick-ups.

Lydia Truong said her 6-year-old son was diagnosed with autism in June and has a history of eloping or running off, a common behavior among autistic children, when they are out in public.

Her son is a student at Willow Glen Elementary. The school is located on a Main Street and the family said the walk from their parked vehicle to their son’s classroom has been challenging.

To mitigate the risk, the family brought in Maelene, a service dog they said they trained to run after their son and block his path, preventing him from straying too far.

On the first day of school, in early August, the family said their son held on to the dog’s harness as they walked him from their parked vehicle to class but were met with resistance from staff at San Jose’s Willow Glen Elementary School.

According to Lydia, the school’s vice principal asked them to remove the dog from campus, after asking if it was registered. Lydia said she pointed out that under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service dogs do not require registration or certification.

The Americans with Disabilities Act website states, service animals are dogs, of any breed and size, trained to perform a task directly related to a person’s disability. They can be trained by their owner and do not require certification.

Jan Garrett, Deputy Director for the Pacific ADA Center at the Public Health Institute (PHI) and a former attorney with over 25 years of experience interpreting ADA law, said ADA law is commonly misinterpreted.

After watching a cellphone video of Maelene performing the task the Truongs trained her to do, Garrett confirmed that Maelene’s task of preventing the child from running into the street qualifies her as a service dog, not just an emotional support animal.

Moreover, Garrett emphasized that schools cannot require an assessment of the child’s disability before allowing a service dog on campus. The only questions permissible, according to Garret and the ADA website, are whether the animal is needed due to a disability and what specific task it performs.”

Click on the link below to read the full article.

Originally published by NBC Bay Area