Cherry Hill Student Battles School District Over Service Dog Policy That Violates State, Federal Law

CHERRY HILL, NJ — A Cherry Hill High School East student who has autism and suffers from panic attacks is fighting for his right to bring his service dog to school.

Current school policy forbids students from bringing service dogs on the bus with them, instead leaving the responsibility of transporting the animal to school up to the individual and their family. The policy was passed in June.

However, 16-year-old Ben Shore points out the policy contradicts a state law passed in 2015 that states “A student with a disability, including autism, shall be permitted access for a service animal in school buildings, including the classroom, on school buses, and on school grounds.”

He says the school policy also contradicts the federal Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), which states service dogs must be permitted to accompany people with disabilities in all areas where members of the public are allowed to go.

On Monday night, he confronted the school district about the policy during the Board of Education meeting. He taped the interaction and posted the video to his YouTube channel, and is posted below.

During the meeting, Cherry Hill Superintendent of Schools Joseph Meloche says the district will introduce a revised policy at its next meeting. He also says there is a process students must follow, and it will also be included in the revisions introduced at its next action meeting on Jan. 24.

In the video, Shore also takes issue with school policy that states a teacher’s assistant must take the place of the service dog in the classroom if the presence of the dog has an effect on another student’s health, i.e. if the student is allergic to the dog.

“In that case, the ADA says it is the person with the allergy who must be removed, not the other way around,” Shore said.

Shore’s goldendoodle, Charlie, is trained to help calm him when it senses a panic attack coming on, according to the Philly Voice. Shore has had the dog for 18 months, and has seen the number of medications he needs to take reduced from more than 20 down to five.

Animals at Work Inc. CEO Leah Levine told nj.com that some school officials previously believed that federal laws don’t apply to them because members of the public can’t come and go through schools as they like.

She said she approached Donald Norcross when he was a State Senator about passing a law clarifying how schools are permitted to regulate service dogs, and that law was passed in 2012, according to the report.

Shore has been waging his fight for a while. He helped create a proposed bill known as “Charlie’s Law,” which proposes fining those who don’t allow access to public places for those who need service dogs. The bill has been introduced in the State Senate and State Assembly, but has gone nowhere.