NO DOGS ALLOWED
Kenner Fee won’t be able to bring service dog Ivy to class after Ontario’s human rights tribunal ruled the animal is not vital to the nine-year-old autistic boy’s education.
Ontario’s human rights tribunal has ruled that a nine-year-old autistic boy can’t bring his service dog with him into class.
The decision says Kenner Fee’s family failed to prove that having his black Labrador, Ivy, in the classroom would help him with his education.
Adjudicator and tribunal vicechair Laurie Letheren found that the Waterloo Catholic District School Board took all necessary steps to evaluate whether the dog was needed in the classroom, and supported the board’s decision not to allow the service animal to sit beside Kenner during lessons.
The tribunal heard from Kenner’s family that his autism leaves him prone to agitation, emotional outbursts and even bolting from his surroundings, but that having Ivy beside him significantly helps regulate his behaviour.
Letheren accepted that evidence, but also accepted testimony from school board staff suggesting Kenner was performing well in class without Ivy, and that any problems he was encountering would not necessarily be addressed by the dog’s presence.
Fee’s lawyer, Laura McKeen, says the family is crushed by the decision and is considering their next steps, including Kenner’s future education plans. She says the Fees have the right to appeal the ruling, but haven’t decided if they will do so.
“They truly believe that Kenner’s service animal, Ivy, is essential to his entire life, including and specifically his education,” she said.
“The Fees are devastated by the impact that decision is going to have on Kenner going forward.”
The Waterloo Catholic District School Board did not comment specifically on the decision.
The Aug. 30 tribunal decision chronicles a fight Kenner’s family began in April 2014 to get Ivy into the boy’s class, something that has not been allowed to date.
Kenner’s father, Craig Fee, told the tribunal that Ivy’s presence had made a noticeable difference in Kenner’s life and helped regulate his behaviour.
When he sought permission to bring Ivy into Kenner’s classroom, however, the request was denied.
Laura Kirby-McIntosh, vicepresident of the Ontario Autism Coalition, said the decision represents a setback for education in the province since school boards can apply provincial accessibility guidelines according to their own discretion.
“The injustice here is that whether or not service dogs enter a school is going to be completely left to the discretion of 72 different individual school boards,” she said. “To me, your rights should not change depending on your postal code.”
Currently, Ontario’s Education Act does not treat schools as spaces that are open to the public, which is what permits boards to bar service animals from the premises.