3. What do you already know?
Of the following animals, which can be
considered a service animal?
1. Monkey
2. Dog
3. Cat
4. Miniature Horse
5. None of the above
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4. What do you already know?
Of the following animals, which can be
considered an assistance animal?
1. Monkey
2. Dog
3. Cat
4. Guinea Pig
5. All of the above
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6. Legal Primer
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• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Fair Housing Act (FHA)
United States
• Disability Discrimination ActAustralia
• Disability Discrimination Act and
Equality ActUnited Kingdom
• Provincial LawCanada
7. Fair Housing Act
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• Administered by Housing and
Urban Development (HUD)
• Focuses on discrimination in
housing based on status (like
disability)
• Allows for accommodation
assistance animals in what is
deemed the residential
dwelling.
• Changing climate in higher
education
8. Fair Housing Act
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Civil Rights
Bans
discrimination
in housing
Must
accommodate
assistance
animals in
dwellings
9. Americans with Disabilities Act
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• Accessibility: providing an environment that
is free from barriers and usable to the
greatest extent possible by everyone.
• Reasonable Accommodation: adaptations
that can’t be anticipated or standardized.
Differs for each individual upon request.
• Universal Design: Intentionality within
design resulting in built environments that
are accessible to everyone.
10. Americans with Disabilities Act
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Access Driven
Modification of
policy, practices,
procedures
Service animals
in all areas of
public
accommodation
11. FHA vs. ADA: A Comparison
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ADA Fair Housing Act
Purpose Access to public
accommodations
Civil rights in housing
Applies to Government, public
accommodations, educational
entities
Most housing
Requires Use of service animals Reasonable accommodation,
including assistance and
emotional support animals
In All areas of public
accommodation
Dwellings, including public
and common use areas
13. Service Animals
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• Any dog (or miniature horse) that is
individually trained to do work or
perform tasks for the benefit of an
individual with a disability, including
physical, sensory, psychiatric,
intellectual, or other mental disability.
• Covered under the ADA and FHA
• Allowed to go wherever the handler
goes
14. Assistance Animals
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• Any animal used in the treatment of a diagnosed
condition. May provide physical assistance, emotional
support, calming, stability and other kinds of
assistance.
• Covered under the FHA
• Allowed in the “dwelling”
• No training necessary
• No restriction on type of animal
15. Comparison
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Service Animals Assistance Animals
Rights Presume entitled to be on
site
Treated as accommodation
request
Verification Can only ask if service
animal, and what task
animal is performing
Sufficient documentation to
establish animal is necessary,
existence of disability, and nexus
between animal and disability
Exclusions Animal out of control, not
housebroken, or direct
threat
Outside of housing (although
OCR says classroom requests
must be considered as
accommodation)
Locations All areas of public
accommodation
Dwelling unit and associated
public areas
16. Court Case Examples
United States v. Millikin University
• Settled; university housing must be provided to persons
with disabilities in non-discriminatory manner
United States v. University of Nebraska at Kearney
• Judicial ruling; FHA applies to university housing; recently
settled
Leland v. Portland State University
• Settled; equal access to services and room types
Velzen v. Grand Valley State University
• Settled; emotional support animals in common areas of
dwelling
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18. At OSU – OSU’s Policy
• Policy housed with OEI
• Can be found here:
http://oregonstate.edu/accessibility/serviceanimalpolicy
• Both service and assistance animals permitted under
the policy – assistance animals in UHDS dwellings only
• Service animals in training
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19. At OSU – examples of need
Why do we have a policy in
place?
• OEI’s policy previously referenced
How do we educate students
about our process?
• Request
• Approval
• Integration to Community (Checklist)
• Follow up Notifications as needed
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20. Eligibility
What are you allowed to ask?
1. Is that a service animal?
2. What tasks is it trained to
perform?
How is eligibility determined?
• By a licensed medical
professional
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21. Being Proactive v. Reactive
• Understanding what we can/can’t/ should ask
• Understanding and planning for impacts of animals in
residence
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22. Partners in this Process
• DAS
• CAPS/ SHS (occasionally)
• OGC (occasionally)
• Individual student
• Individual units working
• with UHDS
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23. Service Animal Etiquette
• Don’t make eye contact
• Assume they are working
• Don’t pet
• Don’t talk to the animal
• Seek permission from the owner
• Recognize that this is a service animal, not a
pet
• Not all service animals are the same
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24. How can we help?
Help student understand context of residential
environments
Consider asking owner if there are things we can
do to help
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25. Take Home Points
• Our responsibility to understand laws and how
they impact our work
• Our responsibility to provide student-centered
experiences
• Look at each case in context and provide
individualized support
• Follow our process and when in doubt, ask
questions
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