By Frank Mustac, Special Writer
Because this year marks the first time a service dog is being used by a student in the school district, a new policy governing service animals will be voted on by the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education at an upcoming board meeting.
Language in the policy, introduced for review at the Monday board meeting, states use of a service dog is permitted “by an individual with a disability in all areas of the (school) district where the public is normally allowed to go: in district buildings; on district property; and on vehicles owned, leased or controlled by the district.”
Monday was the first day the student brought the service dog to school, according to Superintendent Thomas Smith, who also said he was in the classroom for a while with the student, the dog and the student’s parent.
“As we move forward with this, and we have our first service animal coming into the district, we really felt it was necessary to put some specific parameters (in place),” Dr. Smith said.
Some “tweaks” were added to a draft version of the policy, he said, based on conversations with board members.
Lisa Wolff, board president, said one of the tweaks requires notification to parents of students who may be in contact with a service animal.
Language in the policy states “Every effort will be made to identify students with known allergies to animal dander, and accommodations will be made for these students to avoid contact with the service dog.”
“We thought that it was really important that that be communicated,” Ms. Wolff said.
Other language in the policy states “The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual’s disability,” for example, aiding with navigation through the building and grounds and alerting others when assistance or physical support is needed.
“Work” or “tasks” performed by the dog “do not include the provision of emotional support, wellbeing, comfort, therapy, companionship or crime deterrence,” the policy states.
“Specifically under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the animal has to be a service animal and not a therapy dog,” Dr. Smith said. “That’s the delineation.”
This is a policy for a service animal to “perform a specific task,” he said. “Providing comfort is not one of those tasks.”
Board of Education Member Bruce Gunther asked who is responsible in the event a service dog bites someone while on school property.
“The handler/owner of the dog is responsible,” Dr. Smith said.
There also is language in the policy that suggests appropriate etiquette regarding service animals, including:
Never pet a service animal while it is working.
Never feed a working service animal.
Do not deliberately startle, tease or taunt a service animal.
