Delran School District to Pay Autistic Student's Family $10,000 for Violations

The United States Justice Department reached an agreement with a Burlington County school district over allegations of a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Delran School District will pay a family $10,000 after refusing to allow a student with autism and encephalopathy to have his service dog in school or at school-related activities, a violation of the act.

The dog alerted others as to the student’s seizures. It also provides mobility and body support, and mitigates the symptoms of the student’s autism.

The district will also adopt an ADA-compliant service animal policy and provide training to designated staff on the school district’s obligations under Title II of the act, including requirements related to service dogs.

Under the ADA, public schools must generally modify policies, practices or procedures to permit the use of a service dog by a student with a disability at school and school-related activities.

Because service dogs must be under the control of a handler, students often act as the handler of their own service dog.

When that is not possible, the family may provide an independent handler, as the family offered to do in this situation.

The Justice Department determined that this particular student’s mother spent six months filling out documents and responding to requests for information from the school district, which ultimately refused to allow the student to be accompanied by his service dog.

The school district also denied the student the right to bring his service dog on the bus for the year-end field trip. His mother followed the school bus with the dog in her car.

“The old view of service animals working only as guide dogs for individuals who are blind has given way to a new generation of service animals trained to perform tasks that further autonomy and independence for individuals with a myriad of disabilities,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division, said. “The Civil Rights Division will vigorously enforce the ADA to ensure that students who use service animals have a full and equal opportunity to participate in all school activities with their peers.”

Those interested in finding out more about this settlement or the obligations of public entities schools under the ADA may call the department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514- 0383 (TDD), or access the ADA website. ADA complaints may be filed by email to ada.complaint@usdoj.gov.

The Civil Rights Division would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey for their assistance in this matter. Federal civil rights complaints specific to New Jersey can be directed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office civil rights complaint hotline at 855-281- 3339 or can be filed by filling out a complaint form at http://go.usa.gov/9nzW.