2019-12-10
Service dogs provide therapeutic benefits to individuals with disabilities in different age groups. In recent years, the question has arisen as to whether students are eligible to get service dogs, as more and more service dogs visit schools and stay in classrooms, canteens and dormitories. While some support the school attendance of service dogs due to the benefits they bring, others oppose it because they see teachers, classmates, roommates and people with allergies faced with some inconvenience. This article will attempt to give you a factual interpretation of the subject, based on laws, regulations, and actual events.
In this article
1. General Introduction to the Service Dog
2. Why Service Dogs in Schools?
3. Which laws protect service dogs?
4. Preparations before taking a service dog to school
4.1. Make an appointment with your school
4.3. Make a plan on how the class should handle the dog
4.4. Intensify the obedience training
General Introduction to the Service Dog
Service dogs, as the most popular service animals, are trained to perform special tasks for people with visible and invisible disabilities. They are legally allowed to gain access to public places with their owner. There is no restriction on the owner’s age and dog breeds, but the person must have at least one diagnosed disability.
The tasks of the service dog should relate directly to the disability and allow the owner an independent life. For example, seizure service dogs will detect oncoming epilepsy and pass the signals to the owner through certain trained behaviors. Children with autism tend to get lost, but do not dare to seek help from others, so service dogs will navigate the little owners or use a particular device to contact their parents.
As disabled individuals can encounter problems anytime, anywhere, service dogs should accompany the owner in almost any location, such as living accommodation, restaurants, stores, hospitals, schools, and other public areas.
Service Dogs in Schools?
For students with disabilities, a safe and relaxed learning environment is the key to accomplish their studies and improve their mental health.
Some school administrators have understood that service dogs are well trained to assist their owners, who are students, in certain tasks and to protect them from seizures or attacks caused by their illness. For example:
1. Children with epilepsy can not be left alone because seizures may occur without obvious signals. Their parents have to supervise them constantly to be able to administer medication at any time. This is very time-consuming. The presence of service dogs reduces the pressure on the parents as the dogs can alert the kids of an oncoming seizure so that the owners/others can take/give medications.
Timely warnings can protect the kids from getting severe attacks if they are in the classroom without a caregiver. If a seizure unfortunately happens, a trained service dog will master the situation skillfully and quickly, and will therefore be able to save the child’s life.
2. The kid with low-functioning autism can sometimes find it difficult to take care of the service dog, so it needs a teacher with a lot of patience. There is a real case about a girl with autism and seizures. Her parents bought a service dog for her and sent the pup to school when she was in the second grade. However, the teacher declined their request on the first day on the grounds that the girl could not take care of the dog and the classmates would not pay attention to the teacher.
In the second year, the girl was assigned to another teacher who is full of love and patience for kids and animals. At first, the new teacher allowed the service dog to be in the class for 2 hours, then 4 hours, then for a whole day. During this time, he taught the girl how to handle the dog and let the dog participate in the lesson. When everything was under control, he gradually increased the time the dog was allowed to spend in the classroom. This path is extremely useful for overcoming autism and creating many excellent memories in the classroom. Also, the dog helped the girl improve her social skills and reduce the occurrence of seizures. Additionally, she could regulate her study time and take care of her service dog, compared to the previous year. While classmates learn a valuable lesson on how to respect people with disabilities and furry animals.
Which laws protect service dogs?
There are laws covering the right to take service dogs into schools, but they contain certain limitations.
• Generally, in the US, a person with a disability is allowed to bring a service dog to school as long as the dog is well trained and benefits the person's independence. Therefore, schools should permit the service dogs to access to facilities along with students. Note that schools are not responsible for the care of service dogs. The student is accountable for feeding, walking, and caring for the dog.
• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act states that school districts are obliged to accept students with disabilities and the service dogs that will accompany them to schools. Therefore, schools should modify their policy, regulations and procedures for service dogs and educate everyone to respect these dogs.
• Public areas in schools (such as cafeteria, public exhibition, office, administrative offices, gymnasium, and playground) are covered by the American with Disabilities Acts. However, classrooms are not considered public areas under the ADA. Additionally, the schools regulated by a religious institution or without federal funding are not controlled by the ADA.
• Service dogs are permitted to live in the HUD (Housing and Urban Development) designated dormitory or campus apartments.
• Under the Individual Education Plan, the first step in bringing a service dog to a school is to include the dog in the student’s Individual Education Plan. If the school rejects the service dog for the reason of allergies and fears of dogs, this might be regarded as a violation of the law and parents can file complaints to the Department of Education.
• Schools can request information about the service dog, excluding data like rabies certificates. Most parents are willing to offer all kinds of information, including dog training certificate, a therapist’s letter, service dog certificate, etc. These documents always help the school to ensure the safety and confidence to accommodate these special visitors in the classroom.
Preparations before taking a service dog to school
According to the above-mentioned laws, service dogs have privileged access to the school with you, but might be denied access to the classroom. So it is important that the school and the teachers understand your condition, that you need a service dog around you, and that they willingly allow your service dog to attend the class. Check out the following preparations that may help your service animal make a good impression at school.
1. Make an appointment with your school
The first step is to inform the school disability services office of your service dog in advance. The benefits of this are that they will provide you and your dog with a reasonable accommodation (dormitory or apartment). Also, if you are a freshman, your teacher will be aware of your assistance animal beforehand.
2. Proof of documents
The document stating that your service dog was trained specifically for students with disabilities is not essential, but it is helpful when submitting your requests to schools. The additional materials commonly include a letter from a professional therapist, training evidence, and a service dog certificate.
3. Make a plan on how the class should handle the dog
When a service dog is brought into a classroom, the student has to deal with two things at once: focus on the teacher and take care of the dog (from feeding to relief to supervision), which is unrealistic for a kid. Therefore, most parents prefer to work out an assistance plan that will gradually extend the time the service dog accompanies the young kid until the kid is able to deal with it independently at school. The plan should be worked out together with the school district, so that the student can take care of the assistance helper in the designated time and places.
4. Intensify the obedience training
As a service dog is an unusual visitor to the school who needs to stay quiet in the classroom and keep calm in the noisy canteen, make sure your dog reacts well to your commands and remains polite and obedient to others’ greetings.
5. Make sure the dog breaks
The dog has to maintain a sitting or lying posture when working in the classroom. Actually, a dog needs to pay close attention during this tedious period. It has been shown that two to three hours of intensive work are the maximum level. It is therefore recommended to let the service dog take breaks every 2 to 3 hours to allow it to breathe fresh air and stretch its legs.
Conclusion
If taking a service dog is allowed to be brought to school, parents can be sure that the safety of their children is guaranteed. Each teacher bears responsibility for the students, as well as the eye-catching service dog, which is a heavy burden for them. We strongly recommend that every family respects what the teacher wants after he/she has accepted your demand for the service animal.
