My assistance dog goes just about everywhere with me. There are places that he doesn't because either it's not safe for him (classes with chemicals like science lab or dark-room photography) or simply because I know where I'm going isn't conducive to him being there (small doctor's office or a theme park where he will overheat). One place I have always taken him, and arguably the most important, has been school.
The Supreme Court has recently agreed to hear a case where a young girl was denied the ability to have her service dog accompany her to school. Ehlena Fry, who has Cerebral Palsy, was not allowed to bring her service animal, a labradoodle named Wonder, to school because her Individualized Education Plan (IEP) called for a human aide and therefore didn't need the dog.
There was a point where she was permitted to bring Wonder to school, but the restrictions put on the dog were so great that it was as if she wasn't there. Ehlena’s mom began to homeschool her and contacted the U.S. Department of Education to report what had happened. After investigating, the department agreed that the school violated the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
This is 100 percent against the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, which among other things, grants people with disabilities the right to have their service animals anywhere the general public can go, including school. The fact that Ehlena also has a human to assist her has no weight in on this.
Her parents sued for damages under both the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act and lost. After an appeal, the Supreme Court will hear the case after her family filed and lost under two federal courts.
Service dogs are a whole different animal (pardon the pun!) than a human aide. When I was in high school, I did not have my aide with me every minute of the day. I didn't want that. Don't get me wrong, my relationship with her was awesome and she's one of my favorite people, but I would have felt so suffocated if I never had time to myself. During these times, I relied on Yogi (my dog) to help me.
I'm sure that the school is worried about the dog being a distraction to the other students, but I would argue that it would be the other way around. When I began bringing Yogi to school, all of my teachers gave me the opportunity to set ground rules and explain that the dog is not a pet, and why he couldn't be pet except at lunch when asked. I had no issues with students ignoring these rules. In fact, one of my teachers used Yogi as an example of Pavlovian psychology in class!
Service dogs are not pets. They are allowed in school. I'm excited to hear what the ruling is and hope that Ehlena and Wonder get a great education together!
