The family of an autistic boy are at loggerheads with their local school district in Sherwood , Oregon , which is refusing to provide a handler to oversee their son 's service dog . For the past three months John McDonald , 6 , has attended class at Middleton Elementary without his autism service dog , Kai , because of the impasse between the family and Sherwood School District . Parents Jennifer and Scott McDonald 's raised $ 13,500 to purchase Kai to help their son who is nonverbal and has a tendency to run away when he gets anxious . Scroll down for video . John McDonald 's parents are at loggerheads with their local school district in Sherwood , Oregon , which is refusing to provide a handler to oversee their son 's service dog Kai during class . On Wednesday morning , Jennifer McDonald took her son and Kai to class in the hope that school staff would take Kai 's leash and lead them inside . According to mom Jennifer , the 70-pound Labrador helps her son keep calm and allows him to better focus in class . The school originally welcomed the idea of allowing a service dog in class . They replaced carpet with bare floors and paid for the Autism Service Dogs of America to train staff to work with Kai . Then the district told the McDonalds that they required a dog handler be to present at all times and that under the Americans with Disabilities Act they would have to pay . ' I guess I was naive . I thought - it 's a service dog , he 's allowed to go in public places . He 's mandated that he can go with John anywhere , ' McDonald told KGW . 'It never occurred to me that it would come up to something like this . The family does n't believe a handler is necessary and say the district is misinterpreting the regulations . They filed a federal discrimination complaint with the Department of Justice in December . The family 's attorneys also point to a recent court case in Florida where a judge ruled that a service dog is no different than helping a blind child deploy a cane , reports The Oregonian . Instead Middleton Principal Jeremiah Patterson told Jennifer that the district is standing by its decision that the family must provide a dog 's handler for Kai . John McDonald , 6 , has autism and so his parent 's raised $ 13,500 to train Kai , a service dog who helps him to remain calm and safe . Jennifer McDonald says her son is being discriminated against and that the Americans with Disabilities Act states that the school should pay for a dig handler because it is they who claim it is necessary . The judge ruled , 'The ( Florida ) district 's failure to provide an employee to assist the child with the dog 's routine care amounted to a failure to accommodate . ' The U.S. Department of Justice also issued a statement in the case , saying the school district 's failure to make reasonable accommodations to facilities and practices was discriminatory . The family are waiting for a legal verdict , but said that time is also critical as the longer the boy and dog are apart , the more their bond deteriorates . On Wednesday morning , Jennifer McDonald took her son and Kai to class in the hope that school staff would take Kai 's leash and lead them inside . Instead Middleton Principal Jeremiah Patterson told Jennifer that the district is standing by its decision that the family must provide the dog 's handler . 'The District communicated to the parents that , under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act , the dog is welcome in the classroom as long as either a parent or someone the parents arrange is in the classroom to supervise and care for the dog , ' said the school in a statement on Wednesday . 'However , the request of the parents that the District provide supervision and care for the dog involves expenditure of public funds and the assignment of additional staff . These are of great concern to the District , acting as a steward of public funds . '
John McDonald 's parents are at loggerheads with their local school district in Sherwood , Oregon , over their son 's service dog Kai . The Sherwood School District is demanding that the family provide a handler to oversee Kai during class . The family argue that the Americans with Disabilities Act states that the parents cannot pay because it is they who want the dog handler . Parents Jennifer and Scott McDonald have filed a federal criminal complaint with the Department of Justice in 2010 . On Wednesday Jennifer attempted to take her son and Kai to school , but the mother refused to take the 70-pound dog .