Monday, Sep. 14, 2009

Boy with autism will attend different school than Columbia, father says

Instead of allowing a 5-year-old autistic boy to attend school with his autism service dog as ordered by a Monroe County judge, the Columbia School District has decided the pair should attend a different school altogether.

Carter Kalbfleisch was expected to attend his first day of special education pre-kindergarten classes in Columbia Monday morning with his autism service dog, Corbin.

Instead, Carter is expected to begin attending the Illinois Center for Autism in Fairview Heights on Wednesday, said Carter's father, Chris Kalbfleisch.

The school district determined it could not accommodate the dog, despite a judge's order to the contrary. The district has appealed the judge's decision.

"The school district took the position on Friday that they have the right to completely decide where Carter is getting his services," said the Kalbfleisch's attorney Jeremy Thompson of the Crowder & Scoggins, Ltd. law firm in Columbia. "For the time being, they decided Carter will get his education elsewhere."

Because Carter is a resident of the Columbia School District and the district has determined it cannot meet his needs, the district will be required, by law, to pay for his education at the Illinois Center for Autism and his transportation to the center.

According to Thompson, the Illinois Center for Autism is willing and able to accommodate Carter and Corbin.

"One of the issues that still remains is the issue of transportation," Thompson said. "They said they would only provide transportation for Carter, not for Corbin or his mother."

The school district did not return calls seeking comment.

Monroe County Circuit Judge Dennis Doyle last month entered a preliminary injunction to let the boy bring his dog into his pre-kindergarten classes. The Mount Vernon-based 5th District Appellate Court denied the Columbia school district's bid to put on hold Doyle's order allowing the service dog into the school. The appeal was a request by the district to temporarily put Doyle's decision on hold while the entire appeal is under way.

The school district's attorneys, Christi Flaherty and Barney R. Mundorf, argued that allowing the dog into the school would have a "direct and negative impact on at least one other student who attends the early childhood program" because that child is allergic to animals, and that the district is "aware of multiple children with medical conditions which may be impacted by the presence of a dog at school."

The appeals court must still hear and decide the appeal filed against Doyle's decision by the school district. That decision will determine the next step the Kalbfleisch's and their attorneys take.