1. 37Fall 2016 Bark
Devyn was born with Angelman Syn-
drome, a rare neurological disorder that
affects speech and mobility, and causes
developmental delays, autism and sei-
zures. The Gates Chili Central School
District,locatedinasuburbofRochester,
N.Y., permits Hannah to accompany
Devyn to school, as long as her mother
pays for a dog handler. Heather Pereira’s
position is that her daughter is Hannah’s
handler, and she only needs minimal
assistance from school staff (a one-on-
one school aide and a nurse are also
with Devyn daily).
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
agreed, and in September 2015, sued
the school district for violating Devyn’s
civil rights under the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). School officials
refused to comply. On August 7, U.S.
District Court Judge Charles J. Siragusa
dismissed the school district’s motion
for a summary judgment (a method for
promptly disposing of legal actions that
are without merit). This means the case
will go forward.
“People ask me all the time, why do
you think the school is doing this? Why
do you think that they are making this
so difficult?” says Pereira. “When Gates
disregarded what the DOJ said, it
became clear this isn’t a matter of igno-
rance, it is blatant defiance…Devyn’s
school is using her disability against
her. Her level of delay does not erase her
rights. It does not make her less worthy
of the compassion and respect all par-
ents want for their children.”
D
evyn Pereira and Hannah, her service dog,
move through their day as one. Clipped to
Hannah’s harness, the nine-year-old is both
safe and as independent as possible. If Devyn
tries to roam, the 110-pound, white Bouvier
des Flandres sits down, stopping the child with the weight
of her body.
Before Hannah came into her life five years ago, the little
girl had to be carried or transported by wheelchair to the
school bus loop. Now, she walks beside Hannah. The dog
is also trained to detect seizures and alert adults so medi-
cation can be administered.
Fighting for Independence
Parents take on school districts that flout the ADA | By Donna Jackel
Service Dogs
Devyn Pereira and Hannah
“…we work to create
a world that not only
accepts our child’s
differences, but more
importantly, embraces
them.”
Devyn (right), Hannah with classmate Gianna

2. 38 Bark Fall 2016
Legal Wrangles
Most children are able to bring their
service dogs to school without a hitch,
according to Ron Hager, senior staff
attorney with the Washington, D.C.-
based National Disability Rights Net-
work. But families who face prolonged
resistance from school districts find
themselves spending enormous amounts
of time and, in some cases, money try-
ing to convince school administrators
to allow these service animals in their
classrooms.
The number of legal disputes be-
tween families and school districts over
this issue has increased in the last five
years, says Hager. In the fall, the U.S.
Supreme Court will hear a case involv-
ing Ehlena Fry, a 12-year-old Jackson,
Mich., girl with cerebral palsy who was
bannedfrombringingherGoldendoodle
service dog, Wonder, to class.
“Our case is specifically about whether
people bringing disability cases have to
jump through a lot of administrative
hoops first,” says Michael J. Steinberg,
legal director of the American Civil
Liberties Union of Michigan, which
brought the suit with the Frys. Steinberg
says he is confident about the outcome
of the Supreme Court case, noting that
a child with a disability should not have
to choose between her education and
her independence. “Give Ehlena her day
in court and we will prove that the dis-
trict violated the ADA,” he says.
In some instances, school officials
have prohibited a service dog on the
basis that the district was already meet-
ing all of the student’s educational needs.
However, preventing children from
bringing their service dogs to school
disrupts the special bond between han-
dler and animal, says Tiffany Denyer,
founder of Wilderwood Service Dogs in
Maryville, Tenn.“It doesn’t work unless
you send the dogs to work.”
When Fairfax County School District
in Virginia refused to allow Andrew
Stevens, who has severe epilepsy and is
developmentally delayed, to take his
German Shepherd service dog, Alaya,
to school in 2010, his family reached out
to the national media, even appearing
on The Today Show. When interviewed
by the media, Kim Dockery, Fairfax
County Public Schools assistant super-
intendent, said she was concerned
about keeping Andrew and the other
students safe. The district ultimately
allowed Alaya to accompany Andrew.
“I think they’re afraid of new things
they don’t understand,” says Angelo
Stevens, Andrew’s dad.
Reasonable Accommodations
Heather Pereira began advocating for
her daughter’s right to take her service
dog to school six years ago. When she
talks about the ongoing conflict with
Gates Chili school officials, you can
hear the weariness in her voice, but the
determination is still there, too. In 2011,
the district allowed Hannah to accom-
pany the preschooler to school; then,
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3. 39Fall 2016 Bark
StacyFry/ACLUofMichigan​
that summer, Pereira was informed that
in order for the service dog to continue
to be permitted in school, she would
have to pay for a dog handler. Pereira
complied, but she also hired a disabil-
ity rights attorney and ultimately filed
a complaint with the DOJ’s civil rights
division.
In September 2013, two investiga-
tors traveled to Rochester to interview
Pereira, school administrators and
classroom staff. Nearly two years later,
the DOJ found that the district was in
violation of ADA requirements and
ordered it to reverse its policy and pay
more than $25,000 in damages. The
New York State Education Department
also found in Pereira’s favor.
This battle could prove pricey for the
upstate New York school district. From
October 2013 to May 2015, Gates Chili
incurred more than $34,000 in legal
expenses related to the case, according
to documents obtained by the Rochester
Democrat and Chronicle newspaper
through a Freedom of Information Act
request.
A detailed report revealed how the
DOJ reached its finding: “Since D.P.
began working with her service dog,
she has learned to communicate with
the dog through hand gestures and sig-
nals. Her service dog interrupts certain
behaviors caused by her autism (such
as meltdowns, wandering and repeated
body movements). Her service dog also
alerts adults to oncoming seizures so
they can take precautions before the
seizure occurs. In short, with the help
of her service dog, D.P. is both safer and
more independent at school.”
The federal agency also found that
requiring staff members to unhook
Devyn from the dog from time to time
and to occasionally remind her to issue
a command were “minimal and rea-
sonable accommodations.”
Two weeks later, the school district
challengedtherulingandfiledanappeal.
“It’s extremely rare for a school dis-
trict to fight the federal government. To
actually litigate —I’ve never seen it,”
says Ron Hager, who has been a dis-
ability rights attorney for decades.
Gates Chili Superintendent of Schools
Kimberle Ward declined a request for
comment, saying that she could not
speak on a pending matter.
The school district just doesn’t get it,
says Kristin Small of the Empire Justice
Center in Rochester, one of Pereira’s
lawyers. “It does not get to choose how
Devyn Pereira, as a person with a dis-
ability, travels through this world. That
is Devyn’s choice alone, or her mother’s,
as long as she is a minor,” she says. “Just
Ehlena Fry and Wonder
Service Dogs and
the Americans with
Disabilities Act
A service dog is individually trained
to do work or perform tasks for a
person with a disability; they are
working animals, not pets. The
work or task the dog performs has
to be directly related to the person’s
disability.
Under the ADA, state and local
governments, businesses, and non-
profit organizations that serve the
public generally must allow service
animals to accompany people with
disabilities in all areas of the facil-
ity where the public is normally
allowed to go.
Under the ADA, service animals
must be harnessed, leashed or teth-
ered unless these devices interfere
with the service animal’s work, or
the person’s disability prevents the
use of these devices.
Staff cannot ask about the per-
son’s disability, require medical
documentation, require a special
identification card or training doc-
umentation for the dog, or ask that
the dog demonstrate its ability to
perform the work.
Allergies and fear of dogs are not
valid reasons for refusing service.
When a person who is allergic to
dog dander and a person who uses
a service dog must spend time in
the same room, they should both
be accommodated, if possible by
assigning them to different loca-
tions within the room or different
rooms in the facility.
A person with a disability can-
not be asked to remove her service
dog unless the dog is out of con-
trol and the handler does not take
effective action to control it, or if
the dog is not housebroken.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice

4. 40 Bark Fall 2016
as it would not be permitted to tell a
person in a wheelchair, ‘I know you pre-
fer to use the wheelchair, but…just try
crutches instead,’ it is not appropriate to
say to this child’s mother, ‘I know you
would like her to bring the dog, but we
think she can do fine at school without
it.’ The fact that Devyn’s use of a service
animal is an inconvenience to the
school district is irrelevant. If the school
can reasonably accommodate that
choice, it must do so.”
Waiting for Justice
Hannah was trained at Tiffany Denyer’s
Wilderwood Service Dogs, which spe-
cializes in providing service dogs for
people with neurological diseases,
including autism, psychiatric disorders,
dementia, PTSD and brain injuries.
According to Denyer, “About half the
dogs are rescues; the rest come from
breeders we have relationships with.”
She looks for dogs who enjoy work, are
calm and easily adapt to change.
In 11 years, she has placed about 200
service dogs. Each undergoes roughly
18 months of training; the first six
months focus on general tasks; the rest
is geared to meet the individual han-
dler’s needs. The dogs learn about 50
commands and are taught to be low
maintenance; Hannah goes the entire
school day without food, water or hav-
ing to relieve herself.
Hannah cost $16,000, but some train-
ers charge $25,000 or more per service
dog. Many families, including the
Pereiras, fundraise for months in order
to purchase a dog. Denyer estimates that
10 to 20 percent of the families she works
with have encountered problems getting
schools to fully accept their service dogs.
Heather Pereira calls Hannah a “gen-
tle giant.” “She has such a calm, grace-
ful presence, even when Devyn gets
ramped up about something,” she says.
“Devyn never asks to be untethered
from Hannah. That says a lot for their
connection.”
This fall, Devyn will enter a fourth-
grade special education class. Pereira
says she is amazed at the growth she has
seen in her daughter, attributing much
of it to her connection with Hannah.
“Devyn is doing things with Hannah
we never thought she’d be able to do. If
Hannah is lying down, she’ll tug on the
harness to make her get up. She taps the
ground so that Hannah will lie down.
Before, Hannah guided Devyn all the
time; now, Devyn is the one guiding
Hannah.”
As fall approaches, the Pereiras and
the Frys wait for justice.
“We hope that the school district
realizes they don’t have a strong case
and negotiates a settlement,” Pereira
says. “The pressure to make this bet-
ter for Devyn and all who follow is real.
Every parent knows they will not be
around forever and so we work to cre-
ate a world that not only accepts our
child’s differences, but more impor-
tantly, embraces them.” B
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