Parents File Lawsuit Against Boy Scout Troop

[fgoodwin]

Parents File Lawsuit Against Boy Scout Troop

 

http://cbs2.com/local/local_story_229153706.html

 

Aug 17, 2006 12:28 pm US/Pacific

 

(CBS) LOS ANGELES The parents of a high-functioning autistic boy plan to re-file a discrimination lawsuit Thursday against a Pacific Palisades Boy Scout troop.

 

The lawsuit claims the troop would not let the 11-year-old boy go to scout meetings or on a camping trip unless his father came along, and that as a result, he was unable to move to the next scouting level.

 

The head of Boy Scouts of America's Western Los Angeles County Council, Ross Harrop, said the organization is "dedicated to meeting the needs of its individual scouts, and has a history of reaching out to families with special needs children."

 

The federal suit is being brought on the family's behalf by the Disability Rights Law Center.

 

N. Jane DuBovy said in a statement that she and her husband "know that our child is capable of handling the rigors of scouting with minor accommodations."

 

The suit, filed Wednesday, was refused by the court for a technical reason when it alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress, when it

 

It was refiled this Thursday, said Brenda McGann of the disability law center.

[scoutldr]

I'm no lawyer, but how does the ADA apply to a private membership organization run by volunteers?

 

From the Department of Justice website:

 

A. A public accommodation is a private entity that owns, operates, leases, or leases to, a place of public accommodation. Places of public accommodation include a wide range of entities, such as restaurants, hotels, theaters, doctors' offices, pharmacies, retail stores, museums, libraries, parks, private schools, and day care centers. Private clubs and religious organizations are exempt from the ADA's title III requirements for public accommodations.

(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

[evmori]

This should be interesting to follow. Please keep us posted, Fred.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[rkfrance]

Who is the CO? If it's a church or an organization like American Legion, they are required to comply with ADA. As an entity of such, the scout troop would also.

[evmori]

The mom in this case is a bankruptcy attorney in the Los Angeles area.

 

It doesn't sound like this Scout was denied anything. It sounds like the Troop was requiring his dad to be present to help with his son. Nothing wrong with that. Maybe the suit should be filed against dad!

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[rkfrance]

Sorry, I should have said recommended, not required.

[GernBlansten]

Having pushed my dad around in a wheelchair for more than 20 years, I guess I have a different perspective of the ADA than most able bodied people. What may seem like unreasonable accomodations can be absolutely essential to those with special needs.

 

Now onto this case. I think the troop needs to make reasonable special accomodations for special needs scouts. But I also think the parents need to make reasonable special accomodations for the troop. The troops request was not unreasonable.(This message has been edited by GernBlansten)

[nldscout]

The interesting thing is they sued the troop, not the council or the CO. How do you sue a troop? Who do you serve the papers on?

 

Who defends the troop?

[campcrafter]

Obviously there is something more here than an autistic boy being required to have an adult with him on camp outs.

 

If the troop did not want this boy the parents could find another troop.

 

If the leaders felt they did not have what is needed for this boys "minor accommodations" then they are right. Had they allowed the boy to go and something happend to the boy, the mother would have sued saying why did you let my boy go if you knew you were unable to meet his needs.

 

Did the parents try to work with the troop and have the father go on a few outings until the leaders felt comfortable that it was OK and that the boy could handle it?

 

Lots of questions here - guess that's why we have courts.

 

cc

 

[campcrafter]

NLD

 

True about suing a troop but the Scout Exec commented so I am sure they must be involved and probably part of the suit, after all they are the ones with the money.

 

Also in reading stories about scouting (not this one neccessarily) - reporters often get the terminology wrong, very wrong at times.

 

 

cc

[gwd-scouter]

"The lawsuit claims the troop would not let the 11-year-old boy go to scout meetings or on a camping trip unless his father came along, and that as a result, he was unable to move to the next scouting level."

 

How does requiring his father to come along prohibit the Scout from achieving the next level in Scouting? Or, any level?

 

Must be more to this story than we see here.

[OldGreyEagle]

So, lets say the lawsuit is succesful, does that mean the troop needs to have 2 leaders "trained" in the care of a "high-functioning autistic"? Who pays for the training? If the scout ends up getting injured, or injurying someone else, is the Troop now culpable? The CO? The BSA?

 

How about the Troop settle with the provision the family is financially responsible for any damage the scout does as well as any medical bills due to the scouts behavior.

 

We are a volunteer organization and to expect volunteers to accept everyone without parental support is as ludicrous as anything I have heard. Troops should be willing to accept anyone they can, but not forced to go beyond their comfort zone

[EagleInKY]

Here's what I think is going on. The troop's leaders don't have the training, resources and/or ability to deal with an autistic child. Maybe they have 30 scouts and only two active leaders, we don't know. Maybe the boy turns violent or can't be led by the boy leaders. Whatever the reason, the scout needs an adult to supervise him. The troop has asked the parents to do that. The parent's, for whatever reason, are refusing. So, what do they do? Sue the volunteers (probably parents of other scouts in the troop), who are willing to spend their time working with their children. Geez, how ridiculous is that.

 

We had a deaf child with deaf parents try to join our pack last year. We tried to accomodate them, but there just was no way to make it work. Someone tried to tell us that we had to provide a translator for them. We couldn't afford to do anything like that. I confered with our council, who agreed that we had done our part and tried to make it work. The family left, and were pretty upset with us. I guess I should now be glad that they didn't sue us.

 

In the troop, we have had boys with specific needs where we've required parents to attend. We've never had anyone fight us on it. In most cases, it's been a temporary thing, until we can get the lad under more control.

[evmori]

Requiring dad to accompany his son to Troop meeting & outings in no way limits the Scout's ability to advance unless dad can't or doesn't want to! And this boy is 11 years old! What rank is he advancing to? Tenderfoot?

 

This sounds like mom wants the playing field tilted for her son. She is also an autistic advocate.

 

I wouldn't settle this case. Let her prove her case.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Lifeguard]

Several questions arise in my mind about this.

What is "high-functioning"? Who makes that determination? Why does the troop know that he has autism? What behaviors does the child display that make parental supervision necessary in the mind of the troop's leadership?

 

There are many people that have many different kinds/levels of autism that function, more or less, in society without anyone knowing. I would imagine that the parents brought it to the troop's attention or the troop leaders could tell this child had some special needs that had not been disclosed and approached the family about it.

As someone that works with children in a recreation environment on a daily basis through swimming lessons and Supervising recreational swim, there are times when it is highly appropriate to require parents to directly supervise their children, if not help us teach them and keep them safe.

This has the feel of someone wanting a reason to sue someone. Just my opinion