Psychiatric Service Animals in our Schools:  Court grants preliminary injunction allowing student with autism to be accompanied by service dog at school

by PWDF Staff

As many of you know, on June 15th, 2011, PWDF conducted a seminar entitled Psychiatric Service Animals: Current Law, Experiences & Visions of Hope. Links to materials used during the seminar and photos taken will be posted to the website soon. 

In June Federal District Court for Central District of California issued a preliminary injunction against a school district that was denying an autistic child the right to bring his service dog to school. In the case entitled C.C. v. Cypress School District, Case no. CV 11-00352 AG (Jun. 13, 2011), the court issued a preliminary injunction allowing a student with autism to be accompanied by his service dog at school.

The court concluded that the student had demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of his Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claim that the dog is a service dog under the ADA and the school district failed to demonstrate that its educational program would be fundamentally altered if the dog is allowed to accompany him to school.

The crux of the case rested on whether or not the dog was indeed a “service dog” within the meaning of the ADA. Defendants argued that while the dog provided emotional comfort to the student this was not sufficient to establish that the dog was performing “work” within the meaning of the ADA. The court recognized that this emotional support was complemented by other “work” which included preventing the boy from “elopement” (running away) and helping prevent the student from shrieking and throwing tantrums. 

The court made clear that these tasks qualified as work by "preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors."

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People With Disabilities Foundation is an operating 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California, which focuses on the rights of the mentally and developmentally disabled.

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Advocacy: PWDF advocates for Social Security claimant's disability benefits in eight Bay Area counties. We also provide services in disability rights, on issues regarding returning to work, and in ADA consultations, including areas of employment, health care, and education, among others. There is representation before all levels of federal court and Administrative Law Judges. No one is declined due to their inability to pay, and we offer a sliding scale for attorney's fees.

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