American with Disabilities Act Victory

This week I had a victory in a case I was prosecuting for a minor versus a school board in Hudson County. A middle school in North Bergen was in violation of the American with Disabilities Act. A 13-year-old female student was forced by her middle school to bring along a chaperone on all school sponsored field trips because she had diabetes. The school could not provide a chaperone that was trained in the use of a glucagon gun to administer an emergency shot if needed. Additionally, the school did not allow the students to check their glucose levels in the classrooms. This was a violation of a recent New Jersey Statute passed by Governor Jon Corzine.

After litigating the case in early stages of discovery, I learned that the school had changed its policy. The new changes took over seven months to become effective, but the policy was finally implemented. The changes allowed for students to check their glucose levels anywhere in the school, and the school would make arrangements for all students with diabetes and would provide a chaperone that was trained in the use of a glucagon gun. There were other changes made which benefitted the students who have a special accommodation plan. Overall I was very happy to see that progress was made, even though it took a lawsuit to make the changes happen. The school board in the end settled the matter with the minor child, and hopefully there will not be a repeat of these offenses in the future.