With a new school year underway, a Supreme Court ruling from 2017 reminds us about the clarification on the use of service animals in K-12 schools. The ruling was made thanks to a 13-year-old girl named Ehlena Fry and her trained service dog, Wonder.
In February 2017, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Ehlena, who was born with cerebral palsy. In 2009, Ehlena’s elementary school had prohibited Wonder from accompanying her to class because school officials felt providing a human aide would suffice. As the school district saw it, providing an assistant meant educators were complying with the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
But the Fry family argued that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires schools to allow Wonder to accompany Ehlena, even though educators provide an assistant.
What it means for schools
The Supreme Court ruling sends a clear message.
“Schools need to treat service animals as a reasonable accommodation to a disability,” said Thom Rickert, vice president and head of marketing at Trident Public Risk Solutions, which provides insurance coverage for public entities such as public schools. “They can no longer assume having a human aide as part of an individualized education plan renders a service animal superfluous.”