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Damien - Needed his Service Animal to Ride School Transportation

Misty and her son, Damien, live in a close-knit, rural community in Southern Indiana. Misty told us, “It is a good place to start a family and raise your children.” Misty’s family has deep roots in her community as she graduated from the same high school where her son currently attends, she grew up with many of the current school boards members. Misty’s father retired from the school district after teaching and coaching there for over 40 years. Even with all the connections and relationships, when Damien, Misty’s son, was matched with Ollie, his service animal, things with the school took an unexpected and complicated turn.

In the spring of 2017, Misty and Damien began talking about getting a dog to help Damien manage his anxiety due to Autism and to increase his independence. Misty wanted to keep the school in the loop so she notified the high school that they were considering getting an emotional support animal or service animal for Damien. An emotional support animal (ESA) provides emotional support for a disability related need. A service animal is trained to perform specific tasks to help an individual with a disability. In July, Damien was matched with a dog named Ollie and they began working together. In August, Misty notified the school that Damien had a service animal and he would begin bringing him to school in November, as soon as he completed a Good Canine Citizenship Test from a local trainer. Passing this test is not required for a service animal but Misty wanted to make sure Ollie had as much training as possible before going to school with Damien.

During this time, the school’s Director of Special Services told Misty that Damien would be the first student in the county with a service animal and the school district would be working on a policy regarding service animals. The school promised her she would like the policy but never provided the policy to Misty to review. At the October school board meeting, Misty testified that a policy was needed and after the policy was voted on and approved, Misty was able to read the entire policy. The policy allowed for service animals to attend school with a student but the school would not allow the service animal to accompany the individual with a disability on school provided transportation, like a school bus. Misty immediately submitted a request to the school board to reconsider the portion of the policy about transporting a service animal.

Meetings and months passed with no amendment to the policy. As of January 2018, Ollie could attend school with Damien during this time, however, Misty had to transport both Damien and Ollie to and from school. She contacted her local IN*Source advocate, the Transportation Director at the Indiana Department of Education, Indiana Disability Rights and filed a federal Office of Civil Rights Department of Education Complaint to advocate for Damien. In February, the school agreed to transport service animals after they were contacted by the Director of School Transportation for the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). At that time, the school decided to call Ollie a comfort animal so they would not need to provide transportation for him. In general, individuals with disabilities are allowed to take service animals, trained to perform a disability related task, into businesses and government buildings, but there is not a similar right to take emotional support animals. Keith Butler, Staff Attorney, sent a letter to the school outlining why the current policy is discriminatory towards people with disabilities and included the definition of a service animal. Individuals with disabilities are allowed to take their service animals with them on public transportation.  By not letting Ollie ride with Damien, Damien was denied equal access to school transportation and school educational services as his peers without disabilities. The school system then agreed to allow Ollie to ride the school bus with Damien.  Natasha Henry, Advocate, attended a case conference with Misty and Damien to make sure that Ollie was defined as a service animal and not an emotional support animal, and to help coordinate a smooth transition for Damien to begin taking Ollie on the bus.

Now, Ollie joins Damien on the bus to school each day. Ollie has been individually trained to perform tasks directly related to Damien’s disability. Ollie is trained to “block” Damien from people approaching without Damien's knowledge, and to “ground” Damien by doing deep pressure therapy. Misty happily reported that since Damien began working with Ollie, she no longer has to fight Damien to go to school and he also attends the afterschool program. And as any parent knows, this is a huge victory.  Damien is showcasing increased self-esteem and Ollies’ presence is a new conversation starter that has given Damien new opportunities to socialize.  In addition to easier mornings, increased self-esteem, and more positive attention from his peers, Ollie is helping Damien to learn responsibility. Misty notes, “This is not a family dog. This is Damien’s service dog and it is his responsibility to take Ollie out, feed him, and care for him.”

Misty and Damien’s goal was not only to have Ollie ride the bus with Damien but to make sure a non-discriminatory policy was established for those students who will come after Damien. Misty said, “If this is the legacy that Damien leaves, I can’t ask any more of him. If this is what he leaves behind, I am proud.”

Misty let us know that in May 2018, Damien spoke to a crowd of over 900 people about Autism. This shows one of the amazing ways a service animal can provide support in order for a person with a disability to try new and challenging things in order to gain valuable skills.

Indiana Disability Rights is proud Misty and Damien’s tenacious advocacy and is honored to have worked together to create a change in their community.