A new school year means that disabled college students are adjusting to their new environments, and are making accommodation requests to their school’s disability services department that will allow a smoother transition. Accommodations can range from needing note-taking assistance, placement in a quieter environment to take tests, and/or being able to use service/support animals on campus. Such accommodations are protected under several federal mandates, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and other pieces of legislation that outlaws discriminatory practices based on disability status(es).
In mid-August, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a statement that it had charged Kent State University, one of the largest universities in Ohio, with discrimination. The University, along with four of its employees, allegedly refused the accommodations request a disabled student made to allow her emotional support animal to live with her in the university-owned and operated housing unit she resided in.
Details of the Alleged Discriminatory Practice Conducted:
According to HUD, the student filed a complaint stating the details of the claimed misgivings she and her husband experienced from the university regarding this matter. The student and her spouse resided in housing designated for families and upperclassmen attending the University. The student was receiving services from an on-campus helping professional, and the professional stated in documentation that the appropriate means for the student to cope with the disabilities she faced was by having an emotional support animal.
The student, acting on the helping professional’s recommendation about her care, sought and retained the services of an emotional support animal, and filed a reasonable accommodation request to the university about housing the animal. The housing unit the student resided in had a “no pets” rule, and the student was hoping that the university would waive this policy, given that her support animal would be providing her assistance surrounding her disabilities.
The student claimed that the university did not respect her support animal housing accommodation request; though they did honor the requests she made regarding the academic accommodations she needed. Her inability to obtain the housing waiver for her support animal caused her and her spouse to move and search for housing off-campus. When the alternative housing arrangements were made, the student and her spouse contacted Fair Housing Advocates Association (FHAA), Inc. about this incident.
What the Fair Housing Act States about Housing Accommodations:
In this case, refusing to accommodate a student with an emotional support animal violates the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act (FHA), passed in 1968, prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, disability status, and family status. In regards to disability, the Fair Housing Act states the following about reasonable accommodations and housing providers’ responsibilities:
Your landlord may not:
• Refuse to let you make reasonable modifications to your dwelling or common use areas, at your expense, if necessary for the disabled person to use the housing. (Where reasonable, the landlord may permit changes only if you agree to restore the property to its original condition when you move.)
• Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services if necessary for the disabled person to use the housing.
Example: A building with a no pets policy must allow a visually impaired tenant to keep a guide dog.
(Excerpted from Fair Housing – It’s Your Rights.)
In this case, the Fair Housing Act prohibits the refusal the student claimed to have experienced – housing providers like Kent State University cannot refuse to provide reasonable accommodations to waivers regarding “no pets” policies, especially when the accommodation is needed for the disabled person to live an independent life. Gustavo Velasquez, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, made the following statement about housing providers honoring a service/support animal accommodation requests:
Many people with disabilities rely on therapy animals to enhance their quality of life. .. The Fair Housing Act protects their right to a service animal and HUD is committed to taking action whenever the nation’s fair housing laws are violated.
Why Other Colleges & Universities Should Keep a Close Eye on this Case:
Until a ruling is handed down in this case (if it is seen in court), Kent State University and its employees are innocent of any wrongdoing and discriminatory practices. However, this case should be on the radar of the colleges and universities in this country. As I say time and time again, being ignorant of the law IS NOT an excuse to hindering someone’s rights. As a former disabled college student, I remember several students of various disabilities with their service and support animals in the classrooms, cafeterias, and dormitories. These animals serve a purpose – they are NOT toys or pets; students deserve, and have the rights, to utilize the incredibly freedoms these animals bestow upon those who need them.
(Featured headlining image: Courtesy of Working Service Dog.)
I am disabled Army retiree/veteran with a service dog
I am also an advanced standing MSW student.
Kent state according to Law can only ask 2 questions to determine if an animal is a service animal:
1. Is this animal required because of a disability?
2.What work or task has this animal been trained to perform?
Ok so I’ll assume the students animal meets criterion 1 and my concerns is the the animal does not carry certifications of training tasks from any service dog agencies (IGDF or ADI) And not having specific tasks that are performed excludes eligibility.
From the ADA WEBSITE….
Service Animal Defined by Title II and Title III of the ADA
I. What a service animal is:
A service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Tasks performed can include, among other things, pulling a wheelchair, retrieving dropped items, alerting a person to a sound, reminding a person to take medication, or pressing an elevator button.
II. What a service animal is not:
While Emotional Support Animals or Comfort Animals are often used as part of a medical treatment plan as therapy animals, they are not considered service animals under the ADA. These support animals provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and sometimes help with depression, anxiety, and certain phobias, but do not have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities. Even though some states have laws defining therapy animals, these animals are not limited to working with people with disabilities and therefore are not covered by federal laws protecting the use of service animals. Therapy animals provide people with therapeutic contact, usually in a clinical setting, to improve their physical, social, emotional, and/or cognitive functioning.
https://adata.org/publication/service-animals-booklet
No worries 🙂
Okay, New Zealand! You have to forgive my ethnocentric assumptions that you were in the USA.
I think we here in New Zealand don’t have support animals, other than for the blind, and I have been hugely interested in in setting up something here similar 🙂
People can have companion animals as reasonable accommodations for a disabling condition. I know people that have cats and varied other animals. A service animal is trained to provide a particular service; however, companion animals are ones that bring comfort and ease to their humans. They are both protected under The Fair Housing Act, the ADA, and 504 of the rehab act.
I was only recently thinking along the lines of having dogs for students and people suffering from depression having dogs, I am glad to see this exists, Would be good to see a law pass this 🙂 win win for all I reckon.
And everyone and their momma is entitled to their opinion… This is America… Continue to share your thoughts, because I definitely will!
And everyone and their momma should have one if said dog is determined by a qualified professional to a therapeutic value for a disability.
There is no certification for companion or service animals. Since there is no nationally recognized standard for animal certification, it can not be required as a condition of being accommodated with animal. All you legally have to do is get a professional, such as Doctor or Mental Health Worker, to write a letter establishing the nexus between the need for the animal and the disabling condition. If the condition is readily apparent, such as a seeing eye dog for the blind, then that is good enough to establish the need for the accommodation.
I’m trying to get mine certified my son has a mental and emotional disability and he is really attached to his doggy
It never ceases to amaze me how people/organizations that should know better continue to violate the law when it comes to accommodating those with documented disabilities. People need to learn that a service/companion animal is not a pet.You can have a no pets policy all day long; what you can’t do is decide you know better than the law and medical and/or mental health professionals when it comes to the need for an accommodation animal.
Everyone and there momma is gonna want a support dog!
Veterinary Social Work at the University of Tennessee