June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 31

had never met with F.V. or interviewed any of his
family members to determine his capacity outside
of an academic setting. Perez further contended Dr.
Kelderman's testimony was speculative because she
had relied upon F.V.'s school records. Perez, however, did not challenge Dr. Kelderman's qualification
to assess individuals with autism.
As characterized by the court, Perez had apparently
objected to Dr. Kelderman's opinion because she " did
not provide any opinion on integrating F.V. into the
rowing program. " The federal district court rejected this
challenge to Dr. Kelderman's expert witness testimony.
In so doing, the court found Dr. Kelderman's opinion
was relevant in determining the required reasonable accommodation for F.V.'s participation in LCRA's rowing program. According to Dr. Kelderman, F.V. would
require " individual coaching and instruction with an
individualized plan and...an evidence-based strategy,
such as ABA, would be helpful to developing an individual plan for him. "
Consistent with Dr. Kelderman's opinion, the court
further noted the pretrial record indicated " F.V. utilizes
individual attention in other activities as well. " In particular, the court found undisputed evidence that " F.V.
cannot travel on a school bus without adult supervision
and requires individualized support at school. "

gle-person boat. " In so doing, the court found " LCRA's
recommendation would still allow F.V. to be a part of
the team, including wearing the uniform and participating in all team activities. " Accordingly, in the opinion of the court, the pretrial record was " void of evidence that LCRA denied F.V. reasonable participation
in the after-school program because of his disability. "
The federal district court, therefore, concluded " LCRA
is entitled to summary judgment in its favor. "
Having found no evidence of discrimination in violation of either Title II or Title III of the ADA, the
federal district court entered final judgment in favor
of defendant City of Clermont and defendant Lake
County Rowing Association.
James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D., is an Attorney and Associate
Professor in the School of Sport, Recreation and Tourism
Management at George Mason University (jkozlows@gmu.edu).
Link to law review articles archive (1982 to present): mason.
gmu.edu/~jkozlows.

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No Accommodation Requested
In an ADA claim, the federal district court noted: " The
plaintiff bears the burden of proving not only that he
is disabled but also that his requested modification is
both 'reasonable' and 'necessary.' " Moreover, the court
acknowledged: " No ADA violation occurs, however,
when the private entity demonstrates that the requested modifications would 'fundamentally alter the nature
of ' its service and facilities. "
In this particular instance, the court found Perez had
" neither identified nor requested an accommodation. "
On the contrary, Perez had " repeatedly acknowledged
that she is not seeking an accommodation for F.V. "
While Perez had " admittedly never requested an accommodation from LCRA, " Perez claimed " LCRA's
suggestion to segregate, rather than integrate, F.V. in
the after-school program violates the ADA. "
Within the context of reasonable accommodations
required by the ADA, the federal district court noted
the LCRA coaches had " recommended that F.V. would
benefit from a one-on-one instruction while in a sin

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June 2021 - Parks & Recreation

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