Teen awarded €5500 over discrimination by school

A 17-year-old Oldcastle boy who suffers cerebral palsy has been awarded €5,500 after his former school discriminated against him by not allowing him to bring his assistance dog to school.

Luke Kelly-Melia from Oldcastle was stopped back in 2011 from bringing his assistance dog 'Aidan’ to school when he was in sixth class attending Knocktemple National School near Virginia.

The ruling, published on the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) website found that in Luke’s favour, stating that had been discriminated against by his then school on disability grounds.

Luke is not named in the ruling, but his family have made the outcome public.

An equality officer of the WRC, Orlaith Mannion, found Knocktemple NS had, based on their “Just Say No” policy towards allowing dog access, taken an “obfuscating and close-minded approach to the request” by the Melia family.

The case was heard in July last year, but the decision was only published in recent days.

In November 2011, Aidan was given the specially-trained Golden Retriever by the Cork-based Irish Dogs for the Disabled charity.

Luke had been moved up the waiting list for an assistance dog following a deterioration in his condition and his balance due to a growth spurt.

Prior to the dog’s arrival, Luke’s parents held three separate meetings with the school principal, who is now retired. The matter was also discussed with teachers who were said to have been supportive of the move.

But at the end of the term the school sent a letter to the Melia family informing them that permission to have the dog attend with Luke would require the written consent of the school’s board of management.

The letter also stated that Luke would have to stop bringing Aidan to the school until the board had decided on the matter.

As a result, Luke’s parents, Pauline and Brendan, have decided to home-school their child.

At one point, the school wrote to the parents telling them that it would need to notify the National Education and Welfare Board (NEWB) if Luke was taken out of school.

At the time, Luke’s father Brendan said his son’s life had been “transformed” by the arrival of Aidan, which helped his son’s mobility.

He told The Anglo-Celt: “We used to worry about him falling backwards and hitting his head against a pipe or a radiator but now if he wobbles backwards, the dog stops and they steady themselves up. If he hit is head from a fall, and he’s a big lad, then it could be game over - that’s something that we are just not willing to risk.”

At the commission hearing, 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.

Equality Officer Ms Mannion stated that while the school had been correct to pose questions, the law requires educational establishments to do all that is reasonable to accommodate the needs of a person with a disability.

In its ruling, the WRC has now ordered that the school redraft its policies so that they are in compliance with the law.

It also ordered that a report on the progress of the policy review must be made to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) within 12-months. If not, the IHREC could apply to the District Court for this order to be enforced.