Chris: Has there been any federal regulations/laws designed for school staff to be able to handle a dog in school? Would I need to get a 3rd party person to assist my son with his dog in school? Thank you for your help.
Service Dogs: FEDERAL REGULATIONS FOR SERVICE DOGS IN SCHOOL
We went through mediation to have my son’s Autism Assistance Service dog join him at school. We came to an agreement and the deadline to sign the document was today Feb. 7, 2017. I emailed the school 3 times in the past weeks to follow up and sent them a copy of our signatured agreement. They have not responded. The mediator had told us during the meeting that next steps would be to get an attorney. Is there anything additional you would recommend?
Chris: The Department of Justice received so many questions about service animals that they published a Frequently Asked Questions document about service animals. This doc should answer your questions: http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.pdf
“The ADA requires that service animals be under the control of the handler at all times. In most instances, the handler will be the individual with a disability or a third party who accompanies the individual with a disability. In the school (K-12) context and in similar settings, the school or similar entity may need to provide some assistance to enable a particular student to handle his or her service animal.” [FAQs, Question 27]