Last year, I had the pleasure of speaking with Wendy Givens whose son Scooter was blessed with an amazing service dog named Madison. Scooter is a ten-year-old boy who has autism and Madison keeps him calm, keeps him safe, and can track him should he wander away. The problem? Scooter’s school wasn’t allowing Madison to accompany him despite laws that allow service dogs to go anywhere their person goes.
Now, finally, after a three year battle with the school district, Madison will be able to do her job and take care of her boy while he attends school, although for now it is for a trial period. U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton and a senior attorney from the Civil Rights Division met in January with the superintendent of the Hillsboro School District in Oregon to discuss the failure of the school district to accommodate the family’s request for Madison to attend school. This is thanks to the complaint filed with the Department of Justice by Joel Greenberg, an attorney with Disability Rights of Oregon, and to the unwavering strength and determination of the Givens family.
“Kids with autism deserve the same opportunity as the rest of us to grow and learn,” said U.S. Attorney Holton in a released statement from the Department of Justice. “Scooter’s service dog will help him grow up to meet his full potential – which is something we should all expect and hope for our children. The last thing we need is years of litigation, costing the people of Hillsboro hundreds of thousands of dollars – Scooter is growing up, and doesn’t have time for lawyers to wrangle.”
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires public entities including schools to allow people with disabilities the right to be accompanied by service animals. Service animals are trained to assist individuals with a wide range of disabilities including vision impairment, hearing impairment, mobility disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, and seizures.
In the press release from the Department of Justice, Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division said, “Service animals assist students with disabilities across the United States every day of the school year without incident. Fears, generalizations and stereotypes are simply insufficient to deny access to a student’s service dog, and the department will continue to provide school districts with technical assistance to make sure they comply with the ADA.”
So congrats to the Givens family for being amazing advocates for Scooter and Madison, and for not giving up despite years of struggle. Their efforts have paid off greatly, and will not only help their own son, but will most likely benefit other families throughout the country dealing with similar situations.