 |
 |
Julie, Thanks so much. I am passing this on to Karen Goode- Bartholomew our director ----- Original Message ----- From: Julie Luekenga <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 10:22:16 -0600 (CST) Subject: Re: Therapy Animals I am with a public, 4-year institution and the director of Disability Services at our college. This past summer OCR (Office of Civil Rights) and I went through our service animal policy with a fine-tooth comb. I will include the link to our policy, with which I now feel fairly confident. The ADA makes the distinction between a service animal and a therapy/comfort animal. Although both may have benefits, only a service animal-- one trained specifically to respond to the disability-- is protected by the ADA. The Fair Housing Act will allow comfort/therapy animals in housing situations but, from my conversation with OCR, this is not part of campus residential housing and we abide by the ADA (although it is clearly confusing to have two conflicting legal statements). If you have any questions or want to talk to me one-on-one about this, please feel free to give me a call. I've had extensive conversations with OCR both about our policy and what I can and cannot enforce on our campus. http://www.western.edu/lac/disabilityservices/handbook/service_animal.html Best, Julie Julie Luekenga, Director ▪ Learning Assistance Center and Disability Services ▪ Western State College ▪ Gunnison, CO 81230 Taylor 306 ▪ 970.943.7056 ▪ [log in to unmask] http://www.western.edu/lac/ This email and any documents attached may contain confidential information belonging to the sender which is legally privileged. The information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity mentioned above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking of any action in reliance to the contents of this information is prohibited. -----Original Message----- From: Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Marcie Carter Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2009 8:57 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Therapy Animals Carole, We did have this request on our campus last semester. However, with the recent rewrites on the ADA in January, animals for "emotional support" were removed. If you would like to reply to me off list, I can link you up with our Director of Disabilities, as he can let you know more about the situation. He has researched it quite a bit, due to this unusual request. Marcie A. Carter Director, Bridge Program Delta College University Center, MI 48710 989-686-9163 "Don't feel entitled to anything you didn't sweat and struggle for." -Marian Wright Edelman -----Original Message----- From: Open Forum for Learning Assistance Professionals [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Carole J. Basak Sent: Thursday, March 05, 2009 10:19 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Therapy Animals Our office also serves disability students. Currently we have our first request for permission to bring a therapy dog on campus. Does your institution allow therapy animals (for emotional support) in housing as an accommodation? What is your policy? -- Carole Basak, Associate Director Academic Support Services St. Norbert College 100 Grant St DePere, WI 54115 929-403-3875 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To access the LRNASST-L archives or User Guide, or to change your subscription options (including subscribe/unsubscribe), point your web browser to http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/lrnasst-l.html To contact the LRNASST-L owner, email [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To access the LRNASST-L archives or User Guide, or to change your subscription options (including subscribe/unsubscribe), point your web browser to http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/lrnasst-l.html To contact the LRNASST-L owner, email [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To access the LRNASST-L archives or User Guide, or to change your subscription options (including subscribe/unsubscribe), point your web browser to http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/lrnasst-l.html To contact the LRNASST-L owner, email [log in to unmask] -- Carole Basak, Associate Director Academic Support Services St. Norbert College 100 Grant St DePere, WI 54115 929-403-3875 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To access the LRNASST-L archives or User Guide, or to change your subscription options (including subscribe/unsubscribe), point your web browser to http://www.lists.ufl.edu/archives/lrnasst-l.html To contact the LRNASST-L owner, email [log in to unmask]