Deaf student's dog turned away from school
BY CARL MACGOWAN
Newsday Staff Writer
January 4, 2007, 9:09 PM EST

For the second day in a row, officials at W. Tresper Clarke High School prevented a 14-year-old deaf student from bringing his assistance dog to class.

"I feel like they aren't being fair," ninth-grader John Cave of Westbury said Thursday of East Meadow School District officials, who don't believe he needs the dog to attend class. "They act like they're against me because of my dog."

John's parents, Nancy and John Sr., have battled district officials for more than a year over the right of their son to bring a service dog to school.

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.

John has limited hearing with the aid of cochlear implants.

While the Caves believe Simba and John must be together constantly in order to bond, school officials say the family needs approval from the district's committee on special education.

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act says schools and other public facilities must make "reasonable accommodations" for disabled people, said Thomas Dern, associate executive director of YAI/National Institute for People With Disabilities. While the Caves face an uphill battle arguing that John and Simba cannot be separated, the district may be opening itself to a federal discrimination lawsuit, Dern said.

"It's astounding to me that a school district would take this position," he said. "To me, it doesn't sound like the student is asking for an unreasonable accommodation. ... It's not unusual to have guide dogs on buses and trains and other public accommodations."

Superintendent Robert Dillon did not return a call seeking comment.

The district and John's parents should follow due process to resolve the dispute, said Tom Dunn, a spokesman for the state Education Department. "This is a complex situation without an overnight solution," he said.

The war of nerves between the district and the Caves continued Thursday with a display of civil disobedience. One day after school officials called police when John and his mother brought Simba to the school, the boy returned with the dog, along with his twin sister, Jessica, and two friends.

As John's parents stood across the street, about 100 yards from the school, Principal Timothy Voels and Assistant Principal J. Darryl Strabuk held the door open for other students but closed it when John and Simba tried to enter at 7 a.m. Voels told reporters to leave the premises.

At about 7:30 a.m., John, Jessica and Simba walked away from the school after being told the dog was not allowed in school. Nancy Cave said Voels and Strabuk jeopardized her son's health.

"They made him wait in the cold for a half an hour," she said, "which in my mind is child abuse."

She and her husband took Simba home while John returned to school. "He's already missed two days," Nancy Cave said. "He can't miss school."

John and Jessica walked into the building without incident. Voels glanced at them over his right shoulder as they passed. Through it all, Simba was well-behaved, John said.

"He looked up as people walked by, but he stayed," he said. "He's a good boy."

Source: Deaf student's dog turned away from school - Newsday.com

AP, January 10, 2007
---

L.I. School Tells Its Side of Deaf Boy Dog Controversy


EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (AP) -- It has taken a week, but the East Meadow
School District is now telling its side of the controversy involving a deaf
boy who wants to bring a service dog to class. East Meadow has prevented
14-year-old John Cave from bringing his dog - Simba - to the W. Tresper
Clarke High School. The family has the state's Human Rights Commission
looking into the case.

East Meadow Superintendent Robert Dillon says the boy's parents have
"repeatedly rejected'' efforts to discuss the boy's wish to bring his
service dog to school.

In a statement released late Tuesday, Dillon says the district has a
policy barring animals for safety and health reasons. He adds district
officials determined the student does not need the service dog to access the
district's programs.

Dillon says having a dog in school poses problems for those who may be
allergic. He adds having an animal in a crowded hallway could be dangerous.
And the presence of the dog disrupts the school's routine.

The boy's mother, Nancy Cave, says state and federal laws say that the
school district has no jurisdiction to say when a disabled person needs a
service dog.

She says she has refused to meet with the district's committee on
special education because they have no say about the dog. But she will
discuss the animal and how it helps her son with the Superintendent, alone

UPDATE


Judge: Dog Simba must stay out of school
BY CARL MACGOWAN AND JOHN VALENTI


A federal judge ruled Tuesday afternoon that as long as John Cave Jr. is a student at an East Meadow high school, his service dog, Simba, will have to remain home for now.

Saying that the 14-year-old boy and his family had "failed to exhaust" all their appeals with the East Meadow School District, U.S. District Court Judge Arthur D. Spatt said Simba is not allowed to accompany his owner to classes at W. Tresper Clarke High School because the dog could be "disruptive and counterproductive" to the educational process.

The ruling was announced by Spatt shortly after 1 p.m. in U.S. District Court, Eastern District in Central Islip.

Spatt ruled against the Caves, he said, in part because the family did not follow the appeals process in place in the school district -- instead opting to sue the district for $150 million.

John Cave Jr. is deaf and said he needs Simba to attend classes with him at Clarke, where he is a ninth-grader, because not having the dog present is destroying his training regime with Simba.

His attorney, Paul Margiotta, had argued the dog should be allowed in school and that the right to do so is guaranteed by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The canine controversy has attracted national attention since Jan. 3, when Clarke principal Timothy Voels called police after Cave attempted to bring Simba to school.

District officials argued Cave did not need the dog and expressed concern for the health and safety of other students and staff. Parents of schoolmates said they feared their children would suffer allergic reactions with the dog in class and Voels even testified in court earlier this month that allowing Simba in school was akin to playing "Russian Roulette" with the health and welfare of students and faculty.

But in his decision Tuesday, Spatt said that though two school district committees that govern the education of disabled students in the district had ruled against Cave bringing Simba to school, Cave's parent, John and Nancy, never appealed either of those decisions to the district. Instead, they opted to file the multimillion suit and sought a preliminary injunction that would force the district to allow Simba to attend school. Cave's parents argued that Simba was losing his effectiveness as a service dog because he is away from their son for at least six hours a day.

"I've had it," Nancy Cave, seated in the gallery, said quietly, as Spatt announced his decision. Her son, who uses cochlear implants in his ears to hear, had no reaction to the ruling.

Simba, who also was in court, sat quietly and was well-behaved the entire time.

The family, their lawyer and Simba immediately went into a conference room following the ruling and did not formally address reporters.

The lawyers representing the school district praised the verdict and noted that the district provides Cave with a sign-language interpreter, a note-taker and other assistance while the ninth-grader is in class.

"I think the judge did the right thing and recognized that the district is doing the right thing," said school district attorney Steve Schlesinger. Another school district attorney, Stanley Camhi, said the decision demonstrates the contention that "the district is going above and beyond their legal requirements to serve to Cave."

It is unclear if Cave and his parents can still appeal the district's previous committee rulings through the district-approved appeals process.

It also is unclear if they will appeal the court's Tuesday decision.

I guess ADA failed to help people with disabilities.

I wonder if the school would have rejected a childs' seeing eye dog or a seizure alert dog? Personally, I think everybody should get to take their dogs to school, work, church, where ever, but I'm odd like that!!! Seriously though, could the school be thinking the kid just wants to bring his dog to school & the parents are seeing more than a few $$$$$ signs? In any case, it sure will be interesting to follow this case, Lindsay!

I was with them until

" instead opting to sue the district for $150 million."

I'll guarantee with the threat of 150 million, they'll see the light very soon. That's why they changed their tactics.

How Long is the Boy away from his dog a day i expect no more 6 hours Max, Could it not be a ploy of extracting money from the Authorites, Knowing full well they are putting them in an impossible situation by turning down there request for there son, and at the same time putting the welfare of the rest of the School children and Staff at Risk.
By not having the Dog with him for no more than School Hours will not break any bond between the Boy and His Dog In Fact it may well strengthen it
The school needs to File a Counter Action against the Parents for $150 Million then see how far they will take it
Its far too easy in this day and Age to hold others to Ransom and its time it was stopped

From a legal standpoint, I think its wrong that they are denying the dog because of the ADA. Technically you aren't even allowed to ask about the disability or ask for proof of the disability, you have to admit a dog if someone says he is a service dog. Perhaps that doesn't count for schools or minors? Who knows, I'm not a lawyer, but thats how I always understood the ADA.

But I also agree that their arguments for needing the dog are pretty darn stupid. The dog doesn't need to be with him for those 6 hours, I'll bet the dog is probably pretty sick of having to be by his side 24 hours a day lol. How much is the boy with his dog at home? Also constantly? Or is the dog allowed to have some off-time? Their training argument is BS. Not quite sure if making money was their original intent, but I've heard of crazier things.