The school says the policy simply adds "additional guidelines," but it sometimes contradicts the law.
CHERRY HILL TWP. -- Ben Shore is going to battle, his little goldendoodle Charlie by his side.
He is taking on the Cherry Hill School District, which he says has implemented a policy on service dogs that contradicts state and federal laws on the animals.
"They're creating barriers that make it hard for people with service dogs to go to school," he said in an interview earlier this week. "The law is clear."
Shore, 16, a junior at Cherry Hill High School East who is on the autism spectrum and has panic attacks, said he wants to bring his trained service dog to school sometimes to help him if he has an attack. But he won't do so until the school recognizes its policies violate his rights, he said.
He initially assumed he could bring his dog, as he has in businesses and on airplanes, but checked the school's policy just in case.
He found that the policy the Cherry Hill Board of Education passed, with 128 other revised policies June 28, includes more than one provision that conflicts with the rights of the disabled spelled out in state and federal laws. It is essentially the same, other than a few changes to wording, as the previous policy passed in 2006.
He said he met with Superintendent Joseph Meloche and repeatedly emailed board members about the problem, but was told he couldn't bring his dog without adhering to the policy.
On Monday, he confronted the board at their meeting. According to a video Shore posted online, Meloche told him that some of his concerns would be addressed in a revised policy the board is expected to review at a meeting next week.
Barbara Wilson, a spokeswoman for the district, said Meloche will not comment on the issue until the undisclosed revisions are made.
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Meloche said in the video that the school's policy creates "additional guidelines" and a process for determining a student's need for service dog, but Shore maintains that state and federal law must trump local policy.
Leah Levine, CEO of Animals at Work Inc., agreed. She formed her nonprofit in Morristown to help those with service dogs and educate the public about the laws regarding the animals.
"There's so much misinformation about this," she said.
Levine said that some school officials previously thought that because the public is not allowed to freely come and go from schools, the federal law didn't apply to them. That law guarantees access for service dogs to "all areas where members of the public are allowed to go."
That's why about five years ago she suggested to then-state senator Donald Norcross that the state needed a law to clarify how schools can regulate service dogs. The law passed in 2012.
"It's an amazing piece of equipment for a kid to have in school so he can succeed," she said of a service dog.
Shore said that when his family got Charlie as a puppy a year and a half ago, they realized he had the right temperament to be a service dog.
He said Charlie can feel an anxiety attack coming on and will then lay on Shore to calm him, lick his face, and sometimes bark for help. In the service dog world, the actions are called deep pressure therapy, grounding and tactical disruption.
"It was a hard, long process" to train him, Shore said. "I had to have a panic attack for him to figure out what I wanted him to do."
Shore estimated he brings Charlie with him to public places about half the time, depending on how anxious he is feeling. He would like the freedom to bring him to school when he needs him.
'We have to be advocates'
On the federal level, the Americans with Disabilities Act has jurisdiction over service dogs. It defines a service dog as a dog that is "individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability."
The New Jersey law clarifies that schools should permit the dogs assisting those with a disability, including autism, including allowing them on buses. The Cherry Hill policy prohibits them on buses.
Another discrepancy is Cherry Hill's policy states that if another student in a classroom is allergic to the dog, the dog will be removed and the student will get an aide instead. Federal law prohibits that and specifically says allergies are not a valid excuse, Levine said.
"Nobody can take the dog away. Is someone going to take away someone's wheelchair? It's medical equipment under the ADA," she said of a service dog. "We love them, they're cute, but they're medical equipment."
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The school policy also tacks on additional requirements for the dog's owner, contrary to state and federal laws that limit what a place or school can demand.
Cherry Hill requires that the "trainer of the animal is appropriately licensed and insured and can certify to the safety of the animal," but federal law states that a service dog can be trained by its owner.
The presence of a service dog must also be approved by an assistant superintendent and recommended by a teacher and principal, according to the policy. Shore said that provision also violates federal law and his civil rights as a person with a disability.
"It basically says it's up to each teacher or principal to decide if it's necessary," he said.
Levine said that generally, people who do not comply with service dog laws just don't know them. "We have to be advocates and get the word out," Levine said.
If Meloche's statements that the board is thinking about revisions is any indication, Shore's persistence may have paid off.
But he won't stop there. He is still pushing for a bill he helped create to impose criminal fines on those who deny access to someone with a service dog. Called Charlie's Law after his service dog, the bill was introduced in both houses in September but hasn't been acted on.
Shore said was inspired to start the work after seeing how a threat to call police when he and Charlie were being denied access to an airport in Florida got quick results. It is a misdemeanor offense in Florida, he said.
He has also met with Mayor Chuck Cahn about getting a similar ordinance passed locally.
Shore said he wants to make it so no one else with a service dog has their rights limited, whether by a school or businesses.
"I'm an advocate," he said.
Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.