Service/Support Animal Policy

Pets and other animals are restricted on ArtCenter’s Campus with the exception of service and support animals as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Individuals who work with service and support animals shall not be excluded from ArtCenter’s facilities or activities.

Types of Service Animals Permitted on Campus

These guidelines have been developed with the understanding that most service animals working on the college campus will be dogs. Types of service animals might include:

• Guide Dog: A dog trained to provide mobility assistance for individuals with severe visual impairments or who are blind.
• Hearing Dog: A dog trained to alert deaf or hard of hearing individuals by signaling the occurrence of important sounds (e.g., door bells, smoke alarms).
• Service Dog: A dog trained to assist an individual who has some kind of confirmed mobility or health disability. Types of duties the dog may perform including carrying or fetching objects, opening doors, ringing doorbells, activating elevator buttons, steadying a person while walking, helping a person up after the person falls, or alerting other people for additional assistance.

Types of Support Animals Permitted on Campus

Support Animals are utilized by individuals with disabilities for support or assistance, but do not meet the ADA criteria for Service Animal. Types of support animals might include emotional support animals or seizure response animals. Support Animals will only be allowed on ArtCenter’s campus on a case-by-case basis, determined by the Disability Services Coordinator in the Center for the Student Experience.

Responsibilities of Persons with Disabilities Using Service Animals on Campus

Individuals with disabilities, including regular visitors, who utilize service animals on campus grounds, should complete an Animal Registration Form with the Disability Services Coordinator in the Center for the Student Experience.

Before bringing a support animal onto campus grounds, the requesting individual must submit appropriate documentation. Requests to have a support animal on campus for disability accommodation purposes will be evaluated by the Disability Services Coordinator.

Registering a Service Animal on Campus

Registering a Service Animal on Campus or Requesting a Support Animal on Campus requires:

• Animal Registration Form (obtained through the Disability Services Coordinator)
• Medical documentation from a licensed physician, psychologist, rehabilitation counselor, occupational therapist or other professional health care provider stating their diagnosis of student and opinion regarding the need for a support animal. The cost of obtaining the professional documentation shall be borne by the student.
• Current documentation of animal’s health and vaccinations.

Owners are responsible for any damage caused by their animals and must take appropriate precautions to prevent property damage or injury. The cost of care, arrangements and responsibilities for the well-being of a service/support animal are the sole responsibility of the owner at all times. Service/Support animals on campus must:

• Meet Legal Requirements: All requirements for the presence of animals in public places (vaccinations, licensure, ID tags, etc.) mandated by state or local ordinances must be followed, including but not limited to:

• Be under Control of Owner: The owner must be in full control of the animal at all times. Reasonable behavior is expected from service animals while on campus. If a service dog/support animal, for example, exhibits unacceptable behavior, the owner is expected to employ appropriate training techniques to correct the situation.
• Adhere to Cleanup Rule: The owner must follow local clean-up ordinances when the animal defecates or urinates or creates any other kind of mess. Individuals with disabilities who physically cannot clean up after their own service animal may not be required to pick up and dispose of animal waste.

Areas Off-Limits to Service and Support Animals

The college must allow a service animal to accompany the individual with a disability at all times and everywhere on campus except where service/support animals are specifically prohibited.

The following areas are generally off limits to service and support animals:

• Mechanical Rooms/Custodial Closets: Mechanical rooms, such as boiler rooms, facility equipment rooms, electric closets, elevator control rooms and custodial closets, are off-limits to service/support animals. The machinery and/or chemicals in these rooms may be harmful to animals.
• Areas Where Protective Clothing is Necessary: Any room where protective gear or clothing is worn is off-limits to service/support animals. Examples impacting students include but are not limited to all shops and rooms with equipment including the metal shops, wood shops and machine shops, and spray booths.
• Areas Where There is a Danger to the Service Animal: Any room, including a classroom, where there are sharp metal cuttings or other sharp objects on the floor or protruding from a surface; where there is hot material on the floor (e.g. molten metal or glass); where there is a high level of dust; where there are harmful chemicals or materials; or where there is moving machinery is off-limits to service/support animals.
• Food Service Areas: The Cafeteria where food is prepared and served to others will be off limits to service/support animals. Service animals fulfilling specific tasks for an owner may be permitted in strictly limited capacities in the areas where food is purchased before consumption.

Removal/Relocation of Service and Support Animals

Service and Support Animals may be ordered removed by campus security or an animal control officer for the following reasons:

• Disruption: An owner may be directed to remove an animal that is unruly or disruptive (e.g., barking, running around, bringing attention to itself, jumping up on people). If the improper behavior happens repeatedly, the owner may be prohibited from bringing the animal into any of the college’s facilities until the owner can successfully demonstrate having taken significant steps to mitigate the behavior and control future behavior. Any animal that exhibits aggressive or unsafe behavior may be prohibited from College facilities.
• Ill health: Animals who are ill should not be taken into public areas. An owner with an ill animal may be asked to leave college facilities.
• Uncleanliness: Owners must ensure that their animals are kept clean and well groomed. Owners with animals that are excessively unclean (e.g., flea-infested, foul-smelling and/or shedding excessively) may be asked to leave college facilities.