Schoolboy whose school discriminated against him by refusing to allow his assistance dog to school receives €5,500 award

A 17-year-old teenager with cerebral palsy has been awarded €5,500 after his former primary school discriminated against him on disability grounds by refusing to allow him bring his assistance dog into the school.

Knocktemple National School in Virginia, Co Cavan, took a “just say no” attitude to allowing the specially trained stability dog accompany Luke Kelly-Melia after he obtained the dog in sixth class, the Workplace Relations Commission found.

In its ruling, believed to be the first of its kind involving an assistance dog in a school, the Commission ordered the school to redraft its policies to ensure it complied with the law. The Deciding Equality Officer said the school must report to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) on the progress on this within a year.

If it did not do so, the IHREC may, with the consent of the complainant, apply to the District Court for an enforcement order. The commission heard the case in July last year, but has only published its decision in recent days.  Equality Officer, Orlaith Mannion of the Commission suggested the school engage a disability consultant in relation to the matter.

Luke was aged 12 and in sixth class when he obtained the stability dog, Aidan, in November 2011. He had been moved up the waiting list by the Irish Dogs for the Disabled charity after a deterioration in his condition and his balance due to a growth spurt. Prior to the arrival of the stability dog, Luke’s parents had three meetings with the school principal, who has now retired. His mother said his teachers were “very supportive” of the imminent arrival of the dog.

The principal later approached Luke’s mother Pauline Kelly-Melia, however, and said he was not happy with the dog coming into the classroom. He insisted the parents formally write to the board of management seeking permission.

At the commission hearing, Ms Kelly-Melia submitted that the principal had said the boy was not affected by health and safety issues because he had a full-time special needs assistant. Luke’s parents ultimately took him out of the school and home-schooled him from before Christmas in 2011 until the end of the school year, the following June.

At one point, the principal told his parents that if it was their intention not to send Luke to school, it would notify his absence to the National Education and Welfare Board.

Irish Dogs for the Disabled, which owns Aidan, submitted a certificate of insurance to the school board of management showing it had liability cover of €6.5 million. Ms Mannion said the law required an educational establishment to do all that is reasonable to accommodate the needs of a person with a disability.The school had been correct to pose questions.

“However, they took an obfuscating and closed-minded approach to the request.”