I Need Help With Reading Through The Ada. Please Read And Help Me. I Really Appreciate The Help!

[mommyto2kids]

I posted in the kids and parents section in a post called "sad update" I subbed at a school that does not want to give me a bathroom key. Everyone is mad at me because I may need to use the bathroom during class time. No one understands. I would like to go talk to admin. or someone higher up and say that I have an understanding of the ADA Open Original Shared Link  . I'd like to point out where in the ADA it states rights for celiac patients. Can anyone help me please? I posted the site where I found the ADA in blue above. Could you please read through it and see where it may state Celiac patients rights as it pertains to teaching in a classroom? Please let me know what I may say to a principal at an elementary school or high school that would convince them to be supportive of my needs for using the bathroom and providing coverage for my classroom so that I can use the bathroom should I need to. I have a medical note, but it is not working. Teachers give me looks of hate when they hear they may have to watch my class if I need to go. I really need your support and wisdom from this forum. Thanks so much. I really want to do my job as a substitute teacher but am receiving no support or understanding from the schools where I am trying to work.

[kareng]

It may protect some rights but it isn't meant to let someone work a job they can't actually do. It provides for " reasonable accommodations". For example, if someone can't lift baggage, there is no reasonable way to accommodate them so that they can do the airport baggage handler job. A deaf person might be able to do the job with some help with sign language or written instructions.

If leaving a classroom of kids unattended is not acceptable, and there is no one who could jump in while you go to the restrooms, than unlimited access to a restroom may not be a reasonable accommodation.

[ravenwoodglass]

Karen has give you some good advice. Are you still having D? If so and it happens on a regular basis you may want to find out what is causing it. Immodium may also be helpful. When I subbed I would take a half dose 'to be on the safe side'.  If you are having issues with incontinence without D you should consult your doctor. That can have many causes outside of the celiac. Childbirth or nerve damage are two that come to mind. A PT that specializes in incontinence issues can be very helpful. Sometimes if we went years undiagnosed and have had 'accidents' it can leave us with a great deal of anxiety about the possibility that it may happen again. A doctor can help you with that also.  You may want to see if you can sub as an assistant or aide to the classroom rather than as a teacher if being in the classroom is important to you.  That way you can stay in the loop until your issues are under control. 

[kareng]

Part of the problem is that you are looking in the wrong place.  Here are the pertinent parts.  If you are a member of the teachers union, you might want to check with them, too.  (Not sure if PRN are eligible to be a member of a union or even if this law would apply?)

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

"Disability discrimination also occurs when a Open Original Shared Link treats an applicant or employee less favorably because she has a history of a disability (such as cancer that is controlled or in remission) or because she is believed to have a physical or mental impairment that is not transitory (lasting or expected to last six months or less) and minor (even if she does not have such an impairment).

The law requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee or job applicant with a disability, unless doing so would cause significant difficulty or expense for the employer ("undue hardship")."

 

"Disability Discrimination & Reasonable Accommodation & Undue Hardship

An employer doesn't have to provide an accommodation if doing so would cause undue hardship to the employer.

Undue hardship means that the accommodation would be too difficult or too expensive to provide, in light of the employer's size, financial resources, and the needs of the business. An employer may not refuse to provide an accommodation just because it involves some cost. An employer does not have to provide the exact accommodation the employee or job applicant wants. If more than one accommodation works, the employer may choose which one to provide.

Definition Of Disability

Not everyone with a medical condition is protected by the law. In order to be protected, a person must be qualified for the job and have a disability as defined by the law.

A person can show that he or she has a disability in one of three ways:

• A person may be disabled if he or she has a physical or mental condition that substantially limits a major life activity (such as walking, talking, seeing, hearing, or learning).
• A person may be disabled if he or she has a history of a disability (such as cancer that is in remission).
• A person may be disabled if he is believed to have a physical or mental impairment that is not transitory (lasting or expected to last six months or less) and minor (even if he does not have such an impairment)."

 

 

Note:  This is not about children's rights in school, applying for goverment disabilty payments or the right to have safe food in controlled environments such as dormitories or hospitals.

[nvsmom]

As a former teacher, albeit up in Canada, it should be no big deal for a teacher to cover a classroom for 5 minutes. I did it for colleagues and they did it for me, repeatedly, when I had morning (noon and night) sickness with my first pregnancy.  I was still a fine teacher (well, at least average LOL) even though I needed to throw up every couple of hours, and sometimes you simply can't time that to a classroom change.   Teachers cover for each other all the time.

 

That school just sounds like it has a hostile and disagreeable staff.

 

I don't know the rules and laws down there so I'll just wish you good luck, and good luck in finding a friendlier school...

[SMRI]

The trouble is she is a sub, not a regular employee and covering a class might be an issue depending on the availability of other teachers.  I have to agree that just because there is some protection under the ADA, it doesn't mean what you are asking is protected.  I think it's a bit silly not to give keys to the bathroom but whatever.  I think you just need to not sub at that school any longer.  It's obvious they have issues across the board.  There are plenty of other schools that need subs!!

[beth01]

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond to your message, but I've been very busy with a house remodel, a home sale and move, and a recent glutening so I have been a little crazy and not on the computer much. I thought I would respond here with my take just in case others have opinions based on what I think.

Here goes....

The ADA states that a person is defined with a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities ( no doctor is going to disagree that we qualify for this or we wouldn't get 504 plans for our children). You have gone to multiple personal at this school and explained your situation as to why you need a bathroom key, it's a very reasonable request. According to ADA Title 111: Public Accommodations - public accommodations must comply with basic nondiscrimination requirements that prohibit exclusion, segregation, and unequal treatment. In my opinion, all three of these are applying to your situation. And mind you, private schools are also listed as one of the entities this applies to. You are getting excluded, segregated, and getting unequal treatment just by being labeled as just a " substitute" and not getting a key to a bathroom for teachers, which you are, and being expected to try and make it to a bathroom farther away which wouldn't leave you much time to make sure you have a safe environment for your children in the classroom. You have also received a very unprofessional letter from one of the teachers, which I hope you still have. I would ask to meet with the principal and the school board about this situation alone and ask for a reason explanation from them as to why they feel any of this is appropriate or acceptable? Record the meeting. You might have to indulge some embarrassing information about celiac, but I guess you have to decide what is more important to you. Do you just want to walk away and forget the whole situation and hope it doesn't happen again? No one would blame you, it's got to be a hard place to be in. Me, I have a hair trigger switch and would be on them like white on rice. I would go in with quotes from the ADA, backing myself up that I will try with all my power to make sure I'm leaving the children in a safe environment, but it's impossible to do that if you are then expected to walk ten minutes to the bathroom. I would state my grievance that I felt discriminated against just based on the fact that I am a substitute and I've explained my medical necessity for a bathroom key which is by no means an unreasonable request, and if need be I will bring in note from my doctor stating why it's a necessity. If they then didn't tell me that they were sorry about the whole situation and it was a misunderstanding and that the offending teacher who wrote the letter would be reprimanded and that my future employment with them wouldn't be affected by the situation, I would take my recording ( that I told them to begin with that I was taping) and seek a lawyer. But, like I said, I have a hair trigger switch. This disease is hard enough without having b%$@#y ass women like the woman at this school who should have been understanding in the first place. I would take the stick out of her ass and beat her off her high horse, because to her it's a power trip. But again, that's me.

I hope this helps you and that you are doing better with the whole situation. Again, sorry it's taken me so long to respond.

[kareng]

some of these things to do not apply to a job. That is separate and, while a key to the restroom might be deemed reasonable accommodation ( and just a nice thing to do) under the Equal Employement Act - having to have another teacher available to watch the class for a substitute teacher ( not a regular employee) might be deemed unreasonable. I guess you will need to spend a few years waiting for a court date to get a ruling on that - unless you can find a previous case? Or, as I have suggested, see if you have any rights under the teachers union in your district? Not sure an occasional employee would?

A 504 plan & the rights of a child in a school have nothing to do with employment.

[beth01]

Considering everyone has to poop and everyone is susceptible to illness, if it isn't a regular occurrence, asking the teacher in the next room to keep an eye on both rooms in case of emergency shouldn't be deemed unreasonable. I guess I'm one of those people though that try to do what I can for other people and wouldn't make an issue out of someone else's pain, which is why I feel the school is in the wrong. But I know not everyone is like that and not everyone feels the same way.

The way I read the section I mentioned above, it doesn't matter if she is a teacher working there or a student getting their education. A bathroom is an accommodation plain and simple and they are denying her access to one that is more readily available to someone in her medical situation. They are not accommodating her medical needs. It doesn't matter if she is covered under a union or not. It's a bathroom. If she were in a wheel chair and they didn't have an accessible bathroom conveniently located and the teacher's bathroom was, do you think it would be an issue if a sub had a key? If they are worried about giving a key to a substitute, there is a simple solution. Get the key in the morning before school and turn it in after. There is a simple solution to this whole situation, it seems like the right people aren't getting talked to and the only way to solve that is to get all involved in the same room at the same time. I'm not saying she has to sue the pants off of them, but she is obviously having a hard time walking away or she wouldn't be asking the questions, she feels wronged. I mentioned the 504, knowing full well it has nothing to do with employment, but it does have to do with a child with celiac being covered based on the ADA covering celiac as a disability, so it should be considered a disability in this situation also by a doctor and not disputed. The whole thing is ridiculous on the part of the school and I'm pretty sure if the board knew how it was being handled, things would be being handled differently.

Now how mommyto2kids handles the situation is up to her. It's a hard spot to be in, and I don't envy you at all. I do sympathize and wish this is something you didn't have to go through. People handle things differently in different situations and I respect whatever choice you make, whether it's walk away or hit it head on, just do it with your head held high. What ever you do will be courageous, because it will be what's you think is best for you. It's never wrong to stick up for what you think is right, or we wouldn't have an ADA at all.