Posted on 08/05/2004 12:01:14 PM PDT by freeeee
On 7-year-old Cheyenne Gilliam's first day at Mount Vernon Elementary yesterday, her new principal, Leon Davidson, explained to her classmates that the dog she brought to school isn't a pet: It's a working dog trained to respond to Cheyenne's epileptic seizures.
But the pair's first day in second grade ended abruptly when Rockcastle County Schools Superintendent Larry Hammond notified Cheyenne's parents, Jennifer and Anthony Gilliam, that the dog was, in a manner of speaking, being suspended.
Two hours after the day began, the family took the dog, and their daughter, home.
Hammond said in an interview that he wants to find out whether the school is legally obligated to allow Cheyenne to bring Mikki, a 55-pound Wei-mar-aner, into the classroom. The school board's attorney is reviewing the case.
"I've never dealt with a situation quite like this," he said. "I regret the inconvenience to the parent and the child."
Jennifer Gilliam said she's frustrated that the issue is coming up now.
When the family first bought their house in Rockcastle County two months ago, she said she began working with the school system to ensure that it was prepared for the dog, which came home with the family Sunday after five months of training. Gilliam said she had responded to the district's questions, sent in the paperwork officials required and worked with them to draw up plans for how the dog would be handled at school.
Although he has not had any complaints from parents, Hammond said the dog could be a liability to the district and might disrupt the classroom. He also noted that some children might fear dogs or be allergic to them.
"It's my responsibility to see to the safety and the well-being of all," Hammond said. "I would rather look at getting an instructional assistant and training them."
But a human aide couldn't do all the things Mikki can, Jennifer Gilliam said.
She said the dog senses oncoming seizures and alerts Cheyenne by obsessively licking the palms of her hands. That cues Cheyenne to sit down on a mat on the floor, so she will not hit her head on furniture.
During a seizure, Mikki lies across the girl, providing a sense of security. When Mikki gets up, Cheyenne knows it's safe for her to get up, too, Gilliam said.
Cheyenne takes medicine that helps prevent seizures, but she still has three to five "full-blown" episodes a week, Gilliam said.
The family raised $8,000 to pay for the dog and its training as well as training for Cheyenne in Oxford, Pa., where Gilliam said the girl had to prove "that she can handle the dog in any situation."
A lawyer with expertise in service animals and the protections guaranteed their owners under the Americans with Disabilities Act said he does not believe Hammond has the right to stop the dog from coming to school, as long as Cheyenne truly has a disability and Mikki truly is a service dog.
"Unless this dog is menacing the other children, that superintendent doesn't have a leg to stand on," said Aaron McCullough, who works for the Texas-based Disability Law Resource Project.
Gilliam said she believes her refusal to have an "Individual Education Program" drawn up for her daughter is part of the problem.
She said the plan would involve not only testing Chey-enne's intellectual capability, but also her mental and emotional health, something that is not required for most children.
Gilliam said her daughter is a good student and she does not want her treated differently.
McCullough said the refusal of the plan shouldn't matter, since the plans "are for students who have learning impairments or disabilities that affect their ability to learn."
"There's no other formality they (the Gilliams) have to go through," he said.
However, Kentucky Department of Education spokeswoman Lisa Gross said the plans "are also for kids who have physical disabilities," and unless parents agree to setting one up, schools are not required to provide special accommodations.
The family is filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education and will continue going to school each morning to see whether Mikki can go in. If she can't, both the dog and Cheyenne will go back home. Gilliam said she hopes the situation is resolved quickly, as Hammond has pledged.
"I really don't want her to fall behind," she said.
(Article posted for educational purposes only)
She said the plan would involve not only testing Chey-enne's intellectual capability, but also her mental and emotional health, something that is not required for most children.
Yes, idiot mom, that's the problem. I know it's horrible that your daughter has epilepsy, but she does, and you've got to go through an IEP if you want special services.
Face it, your daughter IS different, and if you want accomodations based on that difference, then you've got to, uh, follow the rules.
I can't stand parents who in one breath say they want their kids to be treated as though they are not different, but then in the next breath demand all sorts of special services.
One of my daughter's classmates had a working dog that came to school with him every day. The only problem I am aware of is that all of the kids wanted to pet the dog and play with it. After the situation was explained to them and they understood that the dog was there to do a job, everything was fine.
Perhaps the mother doesn't want her child to feel even more different than she does now? Or do you consider someone with epilepsy emotionally unstable/mentally deficient?
I don't consider them mentally untable or deficient in the slightest. But she IS physically different--I'm sorry, but she is. I think she should have the right to have the dog, but schools have procedures for this sort of thing. If you need a dog in class, then the doctor will sign a letter saying it is a medical necessity, and you go through the IEP and will get the dog.
In my mind this is just the mom refusing to go through the established process that the school has for setting up special services. She's the one at fault here, not the school.
But it's the law. Any student needing anything special in education serivces must fill one out. Maybe it can be used against a family, but that has not been my experience. It allows the school district to give the child the special attetion she needs with family and professional input. I'm surprised that the district allowed the dog to come at all without an IEP.
Well, at least the family will get the $8,000 back. Plis a whole lt more. Unfortunately, it will be from the public coffers because of this horse's ass intervention.
Maybe they aren't acceding to all the rigamarole of psychological testing but you can bet your last dollar that the family will prevail in any proceeding. Look up the meaning of accommodation. I don't think it means what you think it means.
I'm sure they do. Should all reason and logic be abandoned because someone mentions the magic word "procedure"?
This girl has epilepsy and uses a guide dog. What reason (no, procedure is not a reason) is there for her to submit to psychological testing? IOW, why was this procedure established?
My suspicion is schools want these tests on all students, and are nibbling at the edges first.
Perhaps this law stinks and should be thrown in a trash heap?
Why? And she isn't asking for services. She's providing her own.
The parents have gone to all the expense and effort to let their daughter have as normal a life as possible. And the dog approach won't cost the school system an extra nickel. Makes perfect sense for all involved, but I'm sure the school would rather stick the child in a room by herself and spend a few tens of thousands of dollars for a separate teacher and such. Common sense has left the building.
MM
I think we have a winner!
So through this "procedure" the school gets extra funding, and the added bonus of futhering establishment of intrusive psychological testing.
A win-win situation for the school.
Services includes the school making some sort of accomodation for the girl. A dog in class is going to be a HUGE distraction to a class of 7 year olds, and that needs to be dealt with. A girl at my wife's school is blind and has to have an aide with her to help her with braile. She needed an IEP for that, even though it just meant that she'd have someone sitting next to her most of the time.
This is just the mom trying some sympathy ploy to not have to go through what every other family in this situation has to go through.
Unfortunately, the press eats this up and makes it look like the big mean school is the one at fault. But it's the mom who thinks that the rules don't apply to her who should be blamed.
Why should this epileptic girl, or the blind girl be subject to a phychological evaluation?
Please be specific.
I think you have it right.
Follow the money!
IEPs are for deviations from the academic curricula, not for physical accomodations. Kids in wheelchairs do not require IEPs - the gym issue can be handled by a doctor's note, I believe. "Special services" in this context are academic deviations, not physical accomodations.
BTW - Your hostile "idiot mom" comment says more about your attitude toward the issue, not the Mother's.
That is for her and her parents to consider and decide if they want to weather such adversity. That's isn't anyone else's concern.
Why should her class be disrupted and learning come to a complete halt 3 or 4 times a week while this girl has her seizures? Why should the other kids in the classroom have to sit there and watch her twitch and struggle day after day instead furthering their education, as they're supposed to.
I admit, this is a legitimate concern for others. A few things come to mind. First, this is a public school, and epileptics paid for it too whether they wanted to or not. If the other student's parent want a school devoid of epileptics, they can go to a private school. Second, kids learn more in school than just what's on the board. Maybe, just maybe they'll learn a valuable lesson in just how lucky they are to have their health, or what to do if someone needs medical attention?
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