As much as I'd love to take my dog to
school every day, I know that I can't. I'd be distracted by her, she
would probably be nervous, and she would definitely be disruptive.
And that's okay, because I don't need her to come to class with me. I
would love it, but I don't need it.
But what if I did need my dog to come
to school with me and the school district wouldn't allow it? That's
the issue seven year-old Anthony Merchante, his mother, Monica
Alboniga, and Stevie the dog have faced for the past two years. But!
But! The fight to let Stevie accompany his young human companion to
school has ended in the family's favor.
The issue, it seems, was not that Nob
Hill Elementary school in Broward County, Florida didn't allow
service animals, but that their interpretation of the federal
regulations governing service animals differed from Alboniga's. And,
apparently, from U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom's.
Anthony has cerebral palsy, spastic
paralysis, and his nonverbal, so he needs his pit bull, Stevie, to
keep an eye on him and make sure that he is safe. Stevie can lay
across Anthony's lap and stabilize Anthony's head to his airway isn't
impeded; he alerts people if Anthony has a medical crisis by barking
and pressing a sensor that gets the attention of caregivers; he holds
medical supplies in his vest; and he is assurance to Anthony's
mother, who is raising her son and five month-old daughter by
herself.
“Stevie lets me know when he
[Anthony] has seizures or problems breathing. He pushes be toward
Anthony. He barks,” she says. “When Anthony is having
convulsions, he starts barking and goes looking for us. Then he goes
back to Anthony and stays with him.”
Stevie was specially trained to the
Assistance Dog International Standards, but the school district
wanted more. In 2013, when Alboniga first submitted a request for
Stevie's approval, she was told that Stevie needed a series of
vaccinations that are rarely applied to dogs and she would need to
purchase costly liability insurance. Furthermore, they required she
provide, at her own expense, a handler for Stevie rather than keeping
him tethered to Anthony's wheelchair as usual.
This, according to Alboniga's lawyer,
Matthew Dietz, was an “impossible barrier” and violated federal
civil rights laws by taking away preferences to the choices of people
with disabilities. But while the lawsuit was in the works, Alboniga
accompanied Anthony and Stevie to school for four months in
compliance, and then the school board appointed a custodian to be
Stevie's handler. Still, the school board insisted that it is not
their responsibility to help Anthony keep Stevie at school (even
though they were the ones requiring that he had a handler),
especially since the school's staff was already trained to do what
Stevie does. It would not be reasonable, they said, for them to have
to bear the cost of the dog's handler (that, again, they insisted on
requiring).
And here's the thing: the school's
staff may be trained to help students with disabilities, but the
inseparable bond that forms between service animals and their humans
is part of a deliberate design, as long separations diminish the
animal's responsiveness and effectiveness. So it's not just a matter
of Anthony's safety at school, but at all times.
So it's a good thing, then, that Judge
Bloom ruled that not only is it reasonable for the board to assist
Anthony “in the same way a school would assist a non-disabled child
to use the restroom, or assist a diabetic child with her insulin
pump, or assist a physically disabled child employ her motorized
wheelchair,” but also that Stevie should be able to accompany
Anthony to school without all the extra requirements the school board
tacked on.
