Disability bill advances in the Virginia Senate
Bill dealing with disabilities clears Senate committee
Date published: 2/23/2008
By CHELYEN DAVIS
RICHMOND-- Disabled children would be able to take service dogs to school under a bill passed by a Senate committee yesterday.
The bill requires schools to comply with provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The measure, sponsored by Del. Mark Cole, R-Spotsylvania, defines schools as public entities, which means they have to abide by the ADA, including allowing service dogs.
The bill was inspired by Matt Hooios, a 10-year-old Stafford County child disabled by x-linked hydrocephalus. Matt has a service dog, a golden retriever and Labrador mix named Calder. But he is not allowed to take Calder to school with him at Margaret Brent Elementary School.
Schools in Virginia do not consider themselves to be public entities, which by definition must comply with all ADA requirements. The ADA already requires public entities to allow service dogs. Without being a public entity, schools can bar service dogs from schools--in practice, schools allow some dogs on a case-by-case basis.
When Cole's bill first came up in the House earlier this session, Stafford school spokeswoman Valerie Cottongim said principals of schools decide whether to allow service dogs, although Matt's parents, Tom and Sharon Hooios, say their experience suggests that decision is made at a higher administrative level.
Stafford school officials have told the Hooioses that Calder isn't necessary to Matt's education and therefore not allowed. The Hooioses disagree. They say the dog makes Matt more independent, and that in itself helps him learn.
Frustrated with the school system's refusal to acknowledge Calder as an educational aid to Matt, and with the very fact that they had to ask permission for something they consider their son's right under the law, the Hooioses decided to take their problem to Cole.
Cole said he spoke to lawyers about the "public entities" distinction, and was told "that's really legal fiction, and if the school were challenged in court they would lose a costly lawsuit."
Cole's bill already passed the House of Delegates unanimously. It drew no "nay" votes in the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee yesterday, although an attorney for the Virginia School Boards Association spoke in opposition to it.
Date published: 2/23/2008
Most recent reader comments:
wow
(posted by
kmr2r
, Feb. 23, 2008 7:56 pm)
this is going to cost a lot of money. I can't teach with a dog in the room if someday someone brings a dog to our classroom.I love kids and dogs, but I can't have a dog in the same room without getting sick (yes, I take shots and meds- those cost up to $20 a week as well). Where are my rights? Hopefully, somehow this will work out. I would hate to choose between my job and my health. I know its sad for the student , but this is a tough situation. We ban nuts for kids with allergies ..
Disability Bill Advances in VA Senate
(posted by
SD4Me
, Feb. 23, 2008 5:33 pm)
Somebody should tell Mehfoud that allergies are almost always NOT disabilities. The school would not be required to do anything for children who have allergies beyond what they may typically do for a child with allergies (store/dispense their medication, etc.). As the Department of Justice declared years ago, allergies and fears of dogs are never reasons to exclude a service animal from a public place. And, yes, public schools are public places.
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