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By going above and beyond a reasonable accommodation, 

QuoteGood call on service dogs at schools

Good call, Broward County Schools, for opening the classroom door to service dogs that help salve the challenges of disabled students.

To make it happen, a parent filed a federal lawsuit claiming the nation's sixth-largest school district had made it too difficult for her son to be supported by his service dog at Nob Hill Elementary School in Sunrise.

By going above and beyond a reasonable accommodation, the district is advancing the cause of mainstreaming and helping disabled students live as normally as possible.

So kudos to Stevie, the brown-and-white terrier mix who broke down barriers by proving he provides physical support to 7-year-old Anthony Marchante, who suffers from cerebral palsy and cannot walk, see or speak. Remarkably, the dog can alert caregivers when Anthony is about to suffer a seizure or is having trouble breathing.

Anthony's mom, Monica Alboniga, deserves credit for bringing about needed change. Her resolve forced the district to revisit its rules and make room for animals that help children with severe disabilities.

"I won this for [my son] and for other kids that need it," Alboniga told the Sun Sentinel. "I don't want anyone to go through what I went through."

This mom endured a lot. When she enrolled her 6-year-old-son at Nob Hill last fall, the school said it wouldn't accept his service dog unless she provided proof of liability insurance and a host of vaccinations.

Once the story become public, the district waived those requirements, but required Alboniga to provide a dog handler to care for Stevie. Alboniga stepped into the role and spent her days in class staring at the dog, in case it had to go to the bathroom.

Fed up, she filed a federal lawsuit in January, claiming the onerous requirements violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. A U.S. District Court judge recently agreed with her.

"Congress specifically intended that individuals with disabilities not be separated from their service animals, even in schools," wrote the U.S. Department of Justice in a brief filed on the boy's behalf.

Now, Broward is working to rewrite its policy for service animals. Additional vaccines will not be required. The district will not force parents to provide dog handlers. And no liability insurance will be required.

And next year, school staffers will take Stevie outside for bathroom breaks, something not required by the law, but that shows the district going the extra mile.

Best of all, Stevie will be on hand to care for little Anthony.

Still, the outcome is not warm and fuzzy for all.

There will be a price to be paid for allowing pets in the classroom, no matter how well-trained and well-mannered they are. Some students will inevitably be distracted, some will be scared, some may suffer allergies and some may beg to bring their own pets to school, too.

Broward Schools must be vigilant to ensure the open door is not abused. As we've learned from condominium communities, people can and will try to take advantage of ADA laws to bring pets where they are banned.

But we also know that in legitimate cases, service pets can be as important to disabled children as medicine and therapy.

Broward Schools is right to pass a liberalized policy for service pets, one that includes needed protections to keep classroom decorum from going to the dogs.