By Hector Flores
, attempting once again to bring John Cave Jr.¹s service dog, Simba, inside the school with him.
And once again, the Caves were rejected by building officials.
Nancy Cave, John¹s mother, said that the district has been denying her son¹s right to a service dog since May 2005, a violation, she said, of federal law guaranteeing deaf people the use of service dogs in public places. The state law, which she believed solidified her son¹s right to bring Simba to school, went into effect Oct. 1.
Leon Campo, superintendent of the East Meadow School District, became aware of the Caves¹ latest attempt to bring the dog to school on Sept. 20, and in a letter to Nancy, he explained that he based his decision not to allow Simba inside on U.S. District Court Judge Arthur D. Spatt¹s Feb. 27 dismissal of a federal discrimination lawsuit the Caves brought against the school district in January.
³Spatt, after conducting an extensive hearing, ruled that the district was not required under federal or state law to allow the dog in school,² Campo wrote. ³The reasons for the district¹s decision to exclude the dog were clearly set forth ... in Judge Spatt¹s decision, which includes, among other things, the health and safety of the students and staff at the high school.²
The Simba saga continues
Since January, John Cave Jr., 15, has tried a number of times to enter the high school with Simba, and each time he has been turned away by school administrators, on the grounds that the dog¹s presence was contrary to school policy and might pose health risks to staff members and students who have severe allergies to dogs.
The Caves responded with the $150 million federal suit, arguing that their son needs the dog in case of an emergency and in order to be self-sufficient. Furthermore, the family claimed, John¹s right to use the dog is guaranteed by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
But Spatt ruled that the Caves had not exhausted all of their options with the district¹s special-needs program, which creates individualized education programs for disabled students.
Paul Margiotta, an attorney representing the Caves, appealed Spatt¹s ruling, and on Oct. 5 he appeared before the U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan. The court has not yet ruled.
In the meantime, the state Legislature passed legislation in June clarifying state law on the use of guide, hearing and service dogs, making it clear that hearing-impaired people have the same rights to use service dogs as other disabled people.
On Oct. 1 and 2, the New York State Division of Human Rights held a hearing at its regional offices in Hempstead to investigate whether the school district had violated any of John¹s rights in January, when he first attempted to bring Simba to school. Those hearings have been rescheduled for December.
On Tuesday, the Caves believed the rewritten state statute was on their side. After John and Simba were turned away once again, the family planned to take their case to state court on Wednesday and ask for an injunction against the district to allow Simba into the school until the U.S. Court of Appeals makes its ruling.
Nancy said that the district is basing its opposition to Simba¹s entering the school on the fact that a Clarke student, Erin Hanlon, has severe asthma, which is exacerbated by the presence of dogs. Mrs. Cave argued that the district first denied Simba access to the school five months before Hanlon moved into the district.
³They only knew of her condition 36 hours after John and Simba were denied access in person [in January],² Cave said. ³It was then that they were informed of the severity of her disability.²
Since then, Cave has meet with Erin¹s mother, Heather, and devised a safety plan that, she said, accommodates the needs of both children as well as Simba.
Nancy explained that the district has spent over $250,000 thus far to keep Simba out of school. ³They could have spent a fraction of that ... $10,000, on an air filtration system, vacuuming and mopping,² she said.
Comments about this story? HFlores@liheral.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283
