Southeast ADA Center
2011
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Kyra Alejandro attended classes at Palm Beach State College (“PBSC”) from August 2007 to December 2010. In Fall 2009, the Disability Services Coordinator at PBSC referred her for a psychological evaluation to determine whether she required any special education or learning support services. As a result of the evaluation, Alejandro was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a learning disorder.Following her diagnosis, Alejandro began training her dog, an eight-pound Pomeranian named Ambrosius, as a psychiatric service animal. She trained the dog to establish eye contact, nip her fingers, or snort when he perceived an imminent panic attack. She used the dog at school from Fall 2009 until January 2011 when PBSC officials began to investigate into the nature and severity of her disabilities for which she relied on her service animal. Dissatisfied with the documentation provided by Alejandro, the PBSC officials refused to allow her to bring her dog to class.
https://adasoutheast.org/court/alejandro-v-palm-beach-state-college/
Keywords: employment, legal concepts, retaliation, state & local government