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Service Animals for Students and Employees - ACAC

I. General Conditions

  1. Only qualified individuals with disabilities are eligible to use service animals in school.  Any person who believes he or she may be so qualified should address this issue with a building administrator. 
  2. “Service animal” means any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision and assisting individuals with impaired mobility.  Maine Human Rights Commission regulations also include any animal which has been prescribed for an individual with a disability by a physician, psychiatrist or psychologist.
  3. Use of a service animal by a student with a disability will be allowed in school when it has been determined that the student’s disability requires such use for the student to have equal access to the services, programs or activities being offered by the school.
  4. Use of a service animal by an employee with a disability will be allowed when such use is necessary to enable the employee to perform the essential functions of his or her position, or to enable the employee to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as are enjoyed by other similarly situated employees without disabilities.
  5. The District will not be responsible for the training, feeding, grooming or care of any service animal permitted to attend school under these procedures. It shall be the  responsibility of the individual with a disability to ensure the proper care and supervision of the service animal.  The District must approve any person who is authorized to assist in the care and supervision of the service animal.
  6. All service animals will wear a harness/saddle bag or vest that identifies them as service animals and will always be on a leash.
  7. The employee, or in the case of a student, the student’s parents are liable for any damage to school or personal property and any injuries to individuals caused by the service animal.

II. Review of Service Animal Requests

1. The building principal, in consultation with appropriate administrators, shall make the decision to permit, exclude, limit or remove a service animal under these procedures. In making such a decision, he or she shall meet and discuss the issue with the employee making the request, or in the case of a student, with a student and the student’s parents. This discussion should identify the precise limitations resulting from the individual’s disability and the ways in which the service animal may overcome those limitations.

2. The employee, or in the case of a student, the student’s parents are required to provide the following in support of their request:

A. Documentation of adequate liability insurance;

B. Copy of current dog license.

C. Certification of current rabies and other vaccinations and certification of good health from a licensed veterinarian;

D. Certification of the service animal’s training;

E. Appropriate documentation for any person besides the employee or student who is proposed to care for the service animal at school;

F. Evidence that the employee or student can maintain appropriate care and control of the service animal in school. 

3. If a service animal request is approved, the District retains the right to require that updated or additional information be provided.

4.The District may impose additional conditions based on the employee or student’s particular circumstances and/or develop an individual plan regarding the service animal.

III. Removal or Exclusion of Service Animals from Schools

1. The District may remove, limit, or exclude from the school any service animal for reasons such as the following:

A. The animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of the student or others at school, causes a significant disruption of school activities or otherwise jeopardizes the safe operation of the school;

B. The animal is unable to perform reliably the services for which it has been approved;

C. The animal is not under the full control of the student or employee with a disability. 

D. The animal is a public health threat as a result of being infested with parasites, or having a communicable disease of the skin, mouth or eyes; 

E. The animal lacks proof of current rabies and other appropriate vaccinations and/or is not properly licensed;

F. The animal is not properly trained to relieve itself outside the school building. 

G. The animal’s presence significantly impairs the learning of students;

H. The animal’s presence fundamentally alters the nature of any school program; or

I. The employee or, in the case of the student, the student’s parents fail to provide or maintain current documentation required by this policy.

2. If the building principal is considering excluding, limiting or removing the animal for any of the reasons noted in Paragraph #1 above, the principal should also discuss with the employee or the student and a student’s parents what alternative methods may resolve the problems presented by the service animal.  The building principal may also discuss the issue with others who may be of help to him or her in making a decision. 

3. Either the affected employee or the parents of the student may challenge the decision made through the District’s Nondiscrimination/Harassment Complaint Procedure, but during any such challenge, the building principal’s decision shall remain in effect.

 

 

Legal References:   42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.

                    36 C.F.R. § 104; 302

                     MAINE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION RULE CHAPTER 7.01    

  

Policy Adopted:      September 7, 2005

Policy Revised:       December 7, 2005

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