I noticed that there have been postings about preschools that won't accommodate parents' requests for a peanut free classroom, or other reasonable accommodations.
What many people may not know is that your state may have a civil rights law prohibiting places of public accommodation from discriminating (denying access or denying reasonable accommodations) on the basis of disability.
Title III of the ADA is a similar law that covers schools that are not "owned" by a church. Any day care/school that does not pay rent to a church would not be covered by Title III of ADA, but it may be covered by your state's civil rights law.
If your child has life-threatening food allergies and you have asked for reasonable accommodations, such as keeping nut-containing food out of the classroom, and the school still refuses to carry out those accommodations, then they are violating your child's civil rights.
If the school will not provide your child with reasonable accommodations under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, you may file a complaint with your state's civil rights commission. The state commission will first attempt a mediation session, and if that is unsuccessful, the state will take the case to court. You may also file a federal ADA complaint, but they probably won't pursue the case at the federal level. (Although you can request mediation from an ADA mediator). You also have the option of filing your own disability discrimination case in federal court under the ADA. Mediation does not require lawyers to be involved.
Ideally, you should sit down with the preschool director at the beginning of school, explain that your child is considered to have a disabiliy under the ADA and/or state law, and work out the reasonable accommodations that the school will be providing. Accommodaions are considered reasonable as long as they pose no undue (financial) burden or do not fundamentally alter the nature of the school's program.
Private schools should also fall under Title III, as long as they are open to the public (and not just church members).
Title II of the ADA is for public schools receiving federal funding.
[This message has been edited by Stephie's Mom (edited November 16, 2006).]
