DECATUR -JoAnne "Jody" O'Dell, a former Eisenhower High School dean, is suing the Decatur School District for failure to accommodate her under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

O'Dell's complaint alleges that she was unwillingly removed from the job of principal at South Shores School and moved to Eisenhower. At South Shores, court papers say, O'Dell was forced by her health problems - asthma, depression and other emotional disorders - to take time off from work. Once she arrived at Eisenhower, the principal allegedly told her she would not tolerate taking time off. Her physician requested the district accommodate O'Dell's disabilities by, among other things, limiting her time working at the school or related activities to no more than 45 hours a week or nine hours a day.

O'Dell said that she helped stop a fight in the hallway in October 2003 and was exposed to pepper spray, which aggravated her asthma. She then took a Family and Medical Leave Act absence from work. Court documents state that the district notified O'Dell in February 2004 that she had to return to work by March 26, but her physician would not release her to return to work because the district would not make accommodations for her disability.

The trial is due to begin at 9 a.m. Monday in the Federal Courthouse in Urbana.

School district spokeswoman Dawn Hunter said the district cannot comment on litigation and would only confirm that the day and time of the trial are correct.

Springfield attorney Charles Watson, who represents O'Dell, said, "The district said asthma's not something we have to accommodate under ADA, nor is stress, and refused to talk to her at all about that."

O'Dell is asking for back wages and "front" wages - future wages lost due to her inability to work - and damages for emotional distress. Watson said O'Dell's physician and psychiatrist will not release her to return to work due to the emotional trauma she is suffering.

"We believe (O'Dell's condition) is covered under the ADA," Watson said. "As the court puts it, it's an issue of fact as to whether she is suffering from a major restriction of her ability to breathe, and that was after the district filed a motion for summary judgment saying that it isn't."

Valerie Wells can be reached at vwells@herald-review.com or 421-7982.