Service Animal
A service animal in this agreement refers to any guide or signal dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability, where the work is directly related to the individual's disability. An animal fitting this description is considered a service animal under the ADA regardless of whether the animal is trained under a certified society or is licensed by stated or local government.
(Service animals are different from therapy/emotional support animals because their work is not passive;they are not present in the classroom to provide emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship).
In addition to provisions for service animals, revised ADA regulations have new, separate provision about miniature horses that have been trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. (Miniature horses generally range in height from 24-34 inch, measured at the shoulders and generally weigh between 70-100 lbs).
The ADA does not require service animals to wear a vest, ID tag, or specific harness. The handler is responsible for caring for and supervising the service animal, which includes toileting, feeding, grooming and veterinary care. Service animals must be allowed to accompany their handlers anywhere that is open to the general population.
Here are a few tasks that service animals can often perform:
- Guiding students who are blind
- Alerting individuals with hearing loss
- Pull a wheelchair for a student with physical/mobility loss
- Fetching items or turning on/off light switches
- Alerting others or standing guard over a student having a seizure
Tips for having service animals in the classroom:
- Please discuss with the student the best place to seat both student and their service animal in the classroom.
- Please discuss with student what are considered appropriate/inappropriate interactions between the service animal and students in the class (e.g. petting, feeding). Then come to an agreement on how to address the class of the dos and don’ts regarding the service animal in the classroom.
- Allergies or a fear of the service animal are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to students using service animals. However, it may be possible to accommodate requesting students to use different locations within the classroom or take a different section of the course.
A service animal may be excluded from the campus when that animal's behavior poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others. Although the institution may exclude any service animal that is a direct threat, it will give the student with a disability the option of staying without the animal or obtaining another service animal under the following circumstances:
1. The dog is behaving in a disruptive manner by barking, growling, whimpering, running around, or soliciting social attention through behavior uncharacteristic of a service animal; or
2. The dog is not housebroken or clean; or
3. The presence of the dog poses a direct threat to the health or safety of other persons that cannot be eliminated by a modification of policies, practices or procedures, or by the provision of auxiliary aids or services.
Members of the campus community are required to abide by the following practices:
- Do not touch or pet an emotional support animal or service animal unless invited to do so.
- Do not feed an emotional support or service animal.
- Do not deliberately startle an emotional support animal or service animal.
- Do not separate or attempt to separate an owner from his, her, their emotional support animal. or service animal.
- Do not inquire for details about a person’s disabilities. The nature of a person’s disability is a private matter.