Service Animals in Schools

Is that dog allowed in school? Can the miniature horse ride on the bus with my son? Must the service animal leave the classroom if the teacher is allergic? Do I need to include the service animal in the IEP? These are some of the many questions that arise when a child with disability brings a service animal to school.Service Animals in Schools: Legal, Educational, Administrative and Strategic Handling Aspects (LEASH), provides a comprehensive overview of the legal, educational, and accessibility issues surrounding service animals in schools and provides practical guidelines for addressing these concerns within an academic setting. The authors explore topics such as types of assistance animals, educational planning and IEP development, classroom integration, transition planning, and more, providing practical information about service animal use fromboth ends of the leash.

Anne O. Papalia, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at Shippensburg University in the Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education. She teaches courses on instructional methods for students with high incidence disabilities, students with low disabilities, and collaboration. Her research interest includes service dogs in schools, the impact of therapy dogs on students with disabilities, and suicide prevention for people with disabilities. Dr. Papalia has worked as a special educator for students with high and low incidence disabilities in grades K-12, coordinated prereferral intervention teams, and served as a school counselor. She also has been involved in dog training for the past 30 years. She trains and certifies therapy dogs, has trained service dogs for individuals with physical disabilities and returning veterans with PTSD, and is a dog obedience judge. Dr. Papalia earned a Ph.D. in special education from The Pennsylvania State University. She recently authored an article entitledService Dogs in Schools: Legal, Access, and Educational Issues, andco-authored textbook chapters entitledSection 504 of the Rehabilitation Act andEndrew F.: What the future may hold.

Kathy B. Ewoldt, Ph.D., is a special education researcher focused on interventions and accommodations to maximize learning in inclusive settings. Her research includes teaching paragraph writing skills to students with Learning Disabilities and English learners, the integration and implementation of technology in inclusion classrooms, and service animal policy. She has seven years secondary classroom teaching experience with culturally-, linguistically-, and ability-diverse populations in urban environments. Dr. Ewoldt has helped train puppies for future service to assist individuals with visual impairments and has recently co-authored an articleService Animals in PreK-12 Schools: Legal& Policy Implications for School Leaders.Dr. Ewoldt is an Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching Department at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

David F. Bateman, Ph.D., is a professor at Shippensburg University in the Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education where he teaches courses on special education law, assessment, and facilitating inclusion. He is a former due process hearing officer for Pennsylvania for over 580 hearings. He uses his knowledge of litigation relating to special education to assist school districts in providing appropriate supports for students with disabilities. His latest area of research has been on the role of principals in special education. He has been a classroom teacher of students with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, intellectual disability, and hearing impairments, and a building administrator for summer programs. Dr. Bateman earned a Ph.D. in special education from the University of Kansas. He has recently co-authored the following books:A Principals Guide to Special Education,A Teachers Guide to Special Education,Charting the Course: Special Education in Charter Schools,Special Education Leadership,Special Education Law Case Studies, andCurrent Trends and Legal Issues in Special Education. He was recently co-editor of a special issue ofTEACHING Exceptional Children focusing on legally compliant IEPs. He is co-founder of theJournal of Disability Law and Policy in Education.