American Disability Act in Pennsylvania Catholic Schools.

Submitted by CRNPandACHPN t3_12703d5 in Pennsylvania

I have two daughters who both attend a private catholic school in eastern PA. (K-8) Both have epilepsy. The older daughter had a solitary seizure 7 years ago while at home. The younger one (12) has partial seizures where she is conscious. She has also been seizure free for over a year. The school does not allow them to attend any field trips without a chaperone. Today this included blocking my 13 year old from the bus to attend a musical at the catholic high school. Both parents work and Nana is not always free. A classmate who is a type 1 diabetic also has similar barriers.

  1. Is barring children from school activities a violation of the American Disabilities Act?

  2. Are there resources for legal support? If so, where do I start?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

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Comments

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vodkaismywater t1_jec5jda wrote

Hi. I'm a lawyer, but I'm not your lawyer. Please do not take legal advice from strangers on the internet. They often wrong, but never in doubt.

Look and see if your local bar association has a referral system.

If you're reasonably near Philadelphia, I would strongly recommend the Philadelphia Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Information Service.

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RedditMemesSuck t1_jec1tz4 wrote

Well have you tried contacting the people who run the school? Maybe you could write an email or letter to the local bishop; what’s your diocese?

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Ghengiscone t1_jebz96p wrote

If the school receives federal money it has to operate under the ADA.

Based on a quick skim it does mention that extra curricular activities need to have accommodations in place for the disabled, but it says nothing about providing "chaperones." The only non teacher roles that it mentions are interpreters for the deaf.

I know this wasn't super helpful but I hope it points you in the right direction.

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Impressive_Bus11 t1_jefa86f wrote

Everyone has to follow the ADA, I believe. Even private businesses that don't receive federal dollars.

Title IX (9) is what applies to schools who receive federal funding.

Happy to be further corrected if I'm wrong.

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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_jeg88x5 wrote

Not everyone needs to follow the ada. Is for 15+ employees companies etc. Smaller businesses don't need to follow it.

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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_jeg839j wrote

Yes, but ADA is not federal education law and federal education law such as 504 and iep don't apply to private schools.

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zakk412 t1_jebul6c wrote

This might be the first documented case of Catholics failing children. Better get The Pope on the phone.

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OneHumanPeOple t1_jec736r wrote

*sigh

I’ll call him. Though I was already waiting for him to call me back about something else and this is gonna be awkward.

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PencilTucky t1_jebzsug wrote

Looks like this hit too close to home; if this was the worst thing Catholics did, I might still believe in their fairy tale.

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DryIce677 t1_jec1elx wrote

I’m not 100% sure so don’t quote me on this, but I’m pretty sure private school’s do not have to follow this rule. If this were a public school, yes they would have to have whatever is dictated by their IEP/504… But private schools are not mandated by the state, so they do not have to follow all the same rules. They can choose to, but they don’t have to.

Since I am not sure, the first thing I would do is contact the school’s administration to ask questions. I would get their IEP/504s ready to review (I’m assuming they have them since they have disabilities. If not, they need one.)

Edit: public and private don’t seem like real words when you think too fast

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ScoutCommander t1_jec4qw9 wrote

Did you mean private schools in your first sentence?

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DryIce677 t1_jec4u9o wrote

Ugh, yes. My brain thinks faster than my fingers. Thank you.

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CRNPandACHPN OP t1_jecat21 wrote

I am not sure if the school uses public funding. They do use the Allentown School district for bussing. I wonder if that counts.

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No_Mission1856 t1_jedgotc wrote

No busing is required to be provided by state law within a 10 mile radius from home and school.

Most private schools especially catholic dont take fed dollars and like most private organizations they would be exempt from the same laws that the public schools are required to follow. Im actually surprised they allowed anyone in attendance with a disability years ago they wouldnt nor any with learning disabilities.

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Impressive_Bus11 t1_jefb1m1 wrote

If they're not paying the district a commensurate rate for those services, they could be opening themselves up to Title IX liability unintentionally.

I'm not a lawyer but as others have, including at least one lawyer, I would recommend you get a lawyer with experience in this area because they will know all the things or know which things to look at to find the things they don't know things about.

There's a lot of things. Get a lawyer.

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RG_Viza t1_jeeg5az wrote

“Title III, which this rule addresses, prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the activities of places of public accommodation (businesses that are generally open to the public and that fall into one of 12 categories listed in the ADA, such as restaurants, movie theaters, schools, day care facilities, recreation facilities, and doctors’ offices) and requires newly constructed or altered places of public accommodation—as well as commercial facilities (privately owned, nonresidential facilities such as factories, “

https://www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/title-iii-regulations/

So yes they’re violating the ADA. A private school is a business and a school. All activities are required to be reasonably accessible. Since diabetes and epilepsy require no accessibility provisions for the activities you’re talking about, they’re covered by default.

State or federal funding doesn’t play into this requirement although ADA violations are a reason to hold back such funding.

The school is engaging in discrimination.

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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_jeg8foj wrote

You're conflating the ADA with parts of educational law such as 504 and ieps, which they don't need to follow as a private school.

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SeptasLate t1_jec9mbw wrote

As the other comment said it depends on the amount of federal funding, which isn't likely for most catholic schools. Unfortunately private schools have a don't have a great reputation when it comes to special education/accommodations.

For students with disabilities you would want to look at Section 504 and IDEA (individuals with disabilities education act). Epilepsy could be covered by either but if I remember correctly field trips would be covered by 504. The school might not be legally required to follow these acts but some strive to.

Does your child have an educational plan or a disability plan that would be an equivalent of an IEP or 504?

Besides contacting diocese these websites might have resources. I'd also check out websites for parents of children with disabilities.

www.ccse-maryland.org ncea.org

If you're having a discussion with the school I would recommend looking up some info on the psychological and social impacts of exclusion

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CRNPandACHPN OP t1_jecbqyb wrote

Good information. The thing is my children are both straight A students without any academic accommodations. Both are active in sports in and outside of the school. There have been zero accommodations. I just do not want a barrier to participation in normal school activities. Just let them on the bus. (Public school bus at that.)

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SeptasLate t1_jechhtl wrote

As you should, all kids deserve those same opportunities with as few barriers as possible.

Is the 1:1 chaperone a school policy or is it something that you agreed to during some type of meeting while discussing their disabilities?

Depending on your experience with the school so far, I would personally have a meeting to see if any accommodations or compromise could be made, if not I would seek advice from a lawyer that specialized in education or special education. This is largely based on growing up with a sibling with a disability and how my parents went about issues like this.

Unfortunately I don't know too much about private schools, but this would be open and shut at a public school.

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CRNPandACHPN OP t1_jecq5z3 wrote

It seems to be a school wide policy. There was never a formal meeting. We are now on the third principle in the 8 years our kids have been there. While it has been a problem all along it is now being aggressively enforced. They demanded a chaperone today for an even held within the same school system. This was literally to attend a play at the high school she will attend in less than a year. I chaperone my own kids at some field trips as well as the child of a friend who is diabetic. I'm a type 1 myself and never had this bullshit growing up. I drafted a letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Its in the mail box presently. I may send a copy to the bishop. I am debating the press as well.

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SeptasLate t1_jeg5f9v wrote

Yeah, requiring that for the high school is even more ridiculous. It has to be based on some liability concern. Good luck with getting it changed.

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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_jeg394u wrote

Private schools don't do 504s or IEPs. Those are public schools only. Private schools can do something similar, but they don't have to because they are private.

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SeptasLate t1_jeg56dm wrote

That's true, I know a few that will do the equivalent but they're not as binding as an iep or 504. I also think it's helpful for parents to be aware of the public school standard just to be more informed for any conversations even if the school can simply say no

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Adept-Ad-661 t1_jecupqe wrote

Private schools in PA do not have to comply with the ADA. (Bussing from the school district comes from local tax dollars.)

They can also refuse your children due to their medical conditions, or kick them out. They do not have to offer or comply with 504s or IEPs (which you can get due to medical conditions)

The PA education law center is a good resource.

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Aggravating_Foot_528 t1_jeg3gey wrote

This above are the facts.

You may need to either play by their rules or go to a public school.

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creekjumper90 t1_jee3061 wrote

Kids with disabilities have been funneled out of Catholic schools for years to public schools because the Catholic schools refuse to provide the resources to support them. It sounds like you're experiencing this lack of support and I'm sorry about it.

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Brilliant-Jacket-550 t1_jech9fd wrote

Check out the Education Law Center and I’d probably call McAndrews Law. McAndrews is a firm in Villanova that does education law. I am a former special education attorney, but the firm that I worked for handled only public and charter school cases. Education Law Center is a non-profit in Philadelphia that does exactly what the name implies. They’d probably be a great resource and point you in the best direction. Best of luck!

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TSUTigers95 t1_jecm5zv wrote

Contact a lawyer who specializes in ADA

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Professional_Tip_867 t1_jecut1g wrote

She should probably have an aide or a nurse to accompany her. So you need to start with the Doctors Office to get the ball rolling to get assistance that shouldnt cost you any money unless you are very wealthy.

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zrnyphl t1_jecdzn5 wrote

You mentioned the bus in a couple comments - using the public school system’s buses doesn’t make them have to follow any particular laws that apply to public schools and not private schools. In PA, districts that provide their own students with transportation must also do so for students in charter and nonprofit non public schools in their area. Info on transportation specifically is here: https://www.education.pa.gov/Teachers%20-%20Administrators/Pupil%20Transportation/Pages/Pupil-Transportation-FAQs.aspx That doesn’t impact the classification of or requirements placed on the school being provided the transportation.

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