Transcript

Host: Hello and welcome to Prevention and Protection, the United Educators risk management podcast. Today's podcast, Animals on Campus, is hosted by Hillary Pettegrew, Senior Risk Management Counsel at United Educators. Hillary is joined by UE colleague Joanne (JoJo) Dunlap, Associate Risk Consultant and Researcher, to discuss. A reminder to listeners that you can find other UE podcasts, as well as UE Risk Management resources, on our website, www.ue.org. Our podcasts are also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Please note that this is a risk management podcast, and nothing in this podcast should be considered legal advice. Now, here’s Hillary.

Hillary Pettegrew: Hello everyone. I’m Hillary Pettegrew, and it’s great to have you join me today, JoJo.

JoJo Dunlap: Thanks so much, Hillary. I’m happy to be here.

Pettegrew: So you recently created a new resource for UE regarding animals on campus. Can you tell us how that came about?

Dunlap: Sure, I’d be happy to. A short while ago, I realized that a lot of the risk questions from members that I’d been answering over the past year or so were regarding animals on campus. Questions about allowing starting a therapy dog program on campus, where emotional support animals are allowed to go, things like that.

What jumped out to me as I worked on these requests was the terminology relating to support animals was often being used interchangeably, which could cause misunderstanding. And having an emotional support dog myself, I knew how confusing this topic could be. I saw a need for a simple resource, which our members could use as a quick reference guide. And so I created the Know Your Support Animals infographic.

Pettegrew: And that infographic spurred this podcast. So thank you for that context. Now, you mentioned that UE gets many member questions about allowing animals on campus. What categories or types of animals could that term cover?

Dunlap: Yeah, for the most part, UE members are asking about support animals. This category, which can collectively be referred to as assistance animals, includes service animals, emotional support animals, and therapy animals. The other categories would include pets such as dogs, cats, Guinea pigs, or birds, but can also include exotic pets like lizards or snakes, animals brought onto campus for curriculum-specific purposes such as equine or veterinary studies, and then animals brought onto campus for a special event like a petting zoo. I’ve even heard a member say that they were asked to allow a camel on campus for a carnival, if I remember correctly. So the ask can be quite wide-ranging.

Pettegrew: A camel? Well, I don’t think I’ll ask you what happened in that case. JoJo, could you explain the differences between the various support animals about which we regularly get questions?

Dunlap: Absolutely. A service animal is a dog of any size and breed that is individually trained to perform a task directly related to a person’s disability. Service animals are federally protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and a couple of examples of service animals would be a person with PTSD that has a dog trained to lick their hand as an alert to an oncoming panic attack or a visually impaired person who has a dog that is trained to assist them.

I do want to point out that the only other type of animal designated by the ADA to be a service animal is a miniature horse, but they are much less common. Now, emotional support animals can range in species, usually dogs and cats though, and they provide emotional support and comfort to their owner.

Because emotional support animals do not perform a specific task related to a person with a disability, they are not protected under the ADA but do have rights under the Fair Housing Act. Therapy animals, often dogs, but can be other species such as rabbits, are trained and certified to go with their handler who may also be their owner, to provide comfort to other people in settings such as hospitals or school grounds and campuses where the use of therapy dogs in particular to relieve the stress of exams or to provide comfort after a traumatic event has become increasingly popular.

To note, therapy animals don’t have the protections under the law like service and emotional support animals.

Pettegrew: So JoJo, you mentioned several federal laws. Can you just expand a bit on how they apply to animals on campus?

Dunlap: Certainly, and I do want to mention here to our listeners that this area of the law can be complex. So if a matter comes up where there might be legal implications, consult with an attorney who knows this area of the law in your jurisdiction. With that being said, I’ll discuss the main laws impacting campuses. As I mentioned, service animals are protected under the ADA, which generally allows a service animal to be with their person, even in places that doesn’t allow animals.

The Fair Housing Act, which applies to residence halls and school dorms, applies to service animals, but it also applies to emotional support animals, the difference being in the application of the rules. A person with an emotional support animal making an accommodation request under the FHA may need to provide reasonable supporting documentation. For the most part, this documentation would be an ESA letter provided by a licensed mental health care professional. And just to add, I know the department or office handling these types of requests on campus does vary depending on the institution, so remember to provide clear guidance to your campus community on the correct procedures at your school or college.

Pettegrew: What about state or local laws? Do they apply here at all?

Dunlap: Yeah. Some states or local governments do have laws or regulations that allow emotional support animals and service animals in training in some public places. And if all dogs are required to be vaccinated and licensed, the same rules would apply to a support dog. It’s good practice to check with your state and local government agencies to see how the law applies.

Pettegrew: Oh, so that’s an interesting point you mentioned about service animals in training.

Dunlap: Yes. Under the ADA, they are not considered service animals, not until they have completed their training. But again, consult with an attorney because the rules on this may differ due to state or local government laws.

One other law I’ll briefly mention, as it may be relevant for school-sponsored travel, is the Air Carrier Access Act. It allows service animals to accompany their person in cabin on flights, but emotional support animals fly at the discretion of the chosen airline, meaning they’re typically held to the same travel requirements as a pet would be.

Pettegrew: I know UE members concerned about service and other support animals often wonder: What questions are we allowed to ask about a service animal? Similarly, they’ll wonder if they can require documentation, for example, about the animal’s training or require the animal to be registered.

Could you speak to those types of issues, JoJo?

Dunlap: Yeah, Hillary. I am so glad you asked these questions because there’s a lot of misconceptions out there. When it isn’t obvious that a dog is a service animal, which means the person has a hidden disability, only two specific questions may be asked. “Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?” And, “What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?” That’s it. It’s just those two questions.

You cannot request that the dog perform the task it is trained for as proof. You can’t ask about the nature of the person’s disability, and a service animal isn’t required to wear any identifying markers such as a vest, ID tag, or harness. The same rules apply whether the person with the service animal is a student, employee, or visitor on campus, and finally, no documentation can be required. Proof of training does not need to be provided, and there is no such thing as certification or registration requirements for service animals.

While registration can’t be required, you are able to offer a voluntary registry if it serves a purpose, such as advising staff to look out for service animals during emergency evacuation on campus. But again, it is only voluntary.

Pettegrew: Can institutions implement breed-specific bans or rules for any category of animal?

Dunlap: Not for service animals. Any breed of dog can be a service animal, and likewise, any breed of dog can be an emotional support animal. On the other hand, while any animal can technically be an emotional support animal, the type of animal will be relevant in determining if the accommodation request is reasonable. When it comes to pets on campus, allowing or not allowing them, in totality or for specific types and/or breeds, would be a business decision for the institution.

Pettegrew: You mentioned earlier about animals in residence halls, but what about other areas on campus such as, for example, cafeterias, classrooms, labs, or libraries?

Dunlap: Yeah, that’s a great question. Classrooms, dining halls, libraries, and similar places would also be allowed, but there are certain restrictions that apply to service animals. And one of them is food preparation areas. They’re not allowed there.

With laboratories, safety for the service animal should be considered and the environment. If it’s a sterile environment, then the service animal would be restricted from access.

Pettegrew: I’ve heard several schools indicate they only learned that some faculty members had started bringing their dogs to campus when they got student complaints about the animals in their classrooms, saying they’re allergic. These schools were surprised to find they didn’t actually have a written policy on this. So what can or should schools in a similar situation do?

Dunlap: Yeah, in this circumstance, you’d want to first find out in what context the faculty members are bringing their dogs onto campus and in the classrooms. Do they have legal protections — as this information will determine how to move forward. Then you’d want to consider reasonable accommodations as necessary. And of course, UE would highly recommend drafting a suitable policy or revising an existing policy that speaks to animals on campus.

Pettegrew: So speaking of that topic, what policies relating to animals do you recommend having in place?

Dunlap: An animal policy should have a wide scope and include the possible animals requests and scenarios that could be presented at your institution. Consider the types of animals we discussed at the beginning of this podcast — and remember to include animals for special event requests and not just support animals and pets. Include procedures for making accommodation requests. Unless determined by law, your institution will need to decide what the policy looks like with regard to allowing pets, for example, and for other types of requests which fall outside the scope of the policies put in place.

Pettegrew: What about badly behaved animals? Can or should an institutional policy speak to that as well?

Dunlap: Yeah, for sure. Include procedures for out-of-control animals and be clear who they apply to because under the ADA, even out-of-control service animals, which is pretty rare, that can’t be brought under control by their person, or one that isn’t housebroken, may be removed from that situation. Out of control could include a dog in a quiet area such as a lecture hall that is barking continuously, for example. Also, we recommend documenting any incidents of this nature for everyone’s protection.

Pettegrew: And that is our podcast for today. Our listeners can find the infographic we mentioned, Know Your Support Animals, on our website at www.ue.org. Thank you so much for your time and valuable insights, JoJo.

Dunlap: Thank you Hillary.

Host: From United Educators insurance, this is the Prevention and Protection Podcast. For additional episodes and other risk management resources, please visit our website at www.ue.org.