Welcome to How to Read YOUR State Law Regarding Animals on Campus

1. Welcome toHow to Read YOUR State Law Regarding Animals on Campus Please be respectful of your colleagues by silencing your phone. If you need to answer a call, please go to the hallway.

2. Conference Inclusion Statement We ask you to join us in creating a culture that reflects… Access and Inclusion and Civility and Respect …this week and in all aspects of our organization.

3. Why Do You (Should You!) Care About Your State Law • There are Problems: • Some carry broader protection for service animals • Some include vague protection for service dogs in training • Some use different definitions of service animals • There are Protections: • Some use different definitions of service animals • Some include important limits for SDIT • Confusions/Contradictions in State law can work in your favor

4. Legal Overlap! We Know That… • The ADA covers service animals on campus and in residence • FHA covers ESAs in the residence hall • 504 MAY allow for the presence of non-service animals on campus • State laws MAY apply to animals in various places on campus (IF they are mentioned at all • State laws don’t limit the protection of federal laws; they MAY extend additional protections

5. No Two State Laws Are Alike!(Heck… Very Few State Laws Are Consistent Internally!)

6. State Laws Are Patched Over Time (not necessarily for the best!) • You may find reference to “assistance animals” – that doesn’t mean what you think it does • You may find one set of definitions and a different set of (stated) protections • State laws for PWD often started with White Cane Laws and have been expanded since then • When there are inconsistencies in the law, we get to choose the interpretation that works best for us (IF you have institutional counsel on your side!!!) • “You really don’t want to see how sausage is made, either!”

7. What Needs to Be Reviewed In Your State Law? • What animals are protected under State law? • What access is granted (to who and where!?!) • Are there additional access issues based on State law? • Does your state law speak to SDIT? ESAs? • Are there penalties for fraudulent identification?

8. How Do You Research YOUR State Law? • Start on the Michigan State Site: • Table of State Service Animal Laws • https://www.animallaw.info/topic/table-state-assistance-animal-laws • Read the explanatory info (updated this Spring!)

9. How Do You Research YOUR State Law? • There is good news and bad news • The good news is this is up-to-date and provides accurate information • The bad news is that the accurate information may be inadvertently misleading because knowing what it shows on the front page doesn’t give you the details included in actual state statute. You will only have the information YOU need when you delve into the full listing of all the state statutes that speak to service animals and (increasingly) ESAs.

10. The NEW “Table ofState Service Animal Laws” • The new Table has included a new column, detailing whether or not the State recognizes access for SDIT. Doesn’t tell you who qualifies as a trainer, what animals are included, or where animals in training are allowed. For example: • Some states provide access for SDIT, but ONLY for professional trainers • Some states provide access for SDIT, but they limit the definition of a “service dog” in such a way as to exclude a psychiatric service animal in training. • Some states provide access for SDIT, but only in public places – not in dwellings. That means the student could be refused permission to have the SDIT in the residence hall.

11. Begin with the Table and Move On To Your State’s Page • Check to see when the State page was last updated • Your first reading should be to simply note all the places you should go back to review • Be aware of terminology use – and whether it is limited to a specific place in the statutes • Read it ALL. Not everything that is useful will be found in the same place. (Sometimes what ISN’T there is as important as what IS there!)

12. Specifics to Research - Terminology • What term(s) do you see, and where are they applied? • Does the term used have a limiting definition? • Is there a recognizable source? • Look at the date(s) associated with the definition(s)

13. Specifics to Research –Mandated Access • What are pwd using service animals granted access to? • Are there separate access rules regarding public spaces and housing? • Are there restrictions on what you can ask? • All seem to agree that owner is responsible for liability and that animal must be under control.

14. Specifics to Research – Outliers • Are there any weird things that appear in your state law that seem out of place, or that provide some unique coverage? You may not need to do anything with the information, but you need to know about it!

15. Specifics to Research – Service Dogs In Training (SDIT) • Does your state law provide access for SDIT? • What/Who, SPECIFICALLY, is granted access? (Wording is critical) • Is there references to dogs being raised to become service animals? • Are there restrictions on who will be considered a trainer? • TWO THINGS TO REMEMBER: • No state DEFINES what “in training” means • Remember… If your state law limits the definition of a service animal, those limits will apply to SDIT

16. Specifics to Research – ESAs • Some state laws now include reference to ESAs • You will NOT find that noted in the MSU general table • Most of them I have looked at are… um… well-intentioned (at best)!!!

17. Specifics to Research – Penalties for Fraudulent Identification • Does your State law carry specific penalties for fraudulent identification? • While they may not be significant (in terms of money), the fact that those penalties exist can be used in leveraging the student conduct system! • NOTE where these penalties exist – in the criminal code!!!

18. Policy Recommendations: • Strongly encouraged to have separate policies for Service Animals and ESAs • Give serious consideration to NOT including policies re: SDIT in your Service Animal policy (“This policy refers to service animals as defined by the Department of Justice under the ADA.”) • That allows you to create a separate policy regarding service dogs in training under YOUR state law

19. Sample (using Ohio) “The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) assures people with disabilities who are accompanied by service animals that they will not be excluded from public places or activities, nor charged any additional fees, because they are accompanied by their service dog. However, the ADA does not provide the same protection to service animals in training (that is, the ADA assures access for the handler/partner only if the dog is fully trained to give some disability-related service).

20. Ohio state law “Ohio state law (RC §955.43) provides those same rights of access for individuals who are training service animals for a non-profit special agency. For example, an individual employed by Pilot Dogs, Inc., who is preparing future guide dogs to be paired with someone who is blind (in order to provide independent mobility) may bring the dog onto campus and interact with the campus community in public areas, campus offices, and so on.

21. Ohio -continued “Because Ohio state law does not clarify further its use of the term “in training,” the UNIVERSITY has established policy, based on accepted practices suggested by Assistance Dogs International (ADI). A service-dog-in-training is a dog, accompanied by its trainer, that is undergoing individual training to provide specific disability-related work or service for an individual with a disability.  This does not include obedience training or socialization of puppies who may later become service animals (generally 15-18 months).  Thus, adult dogs are recognized as being “in training” to provide disability-specific assistance only after they have completed an earlier period of socialization (obedience training, being house broken, getting acclimated to public places and every day activities as pets).

22. More about Ohio “As service animals in training in Ohio are only given access rights when accompanied by someone employed by a nonprofit agency, they cannot be in-residence in UNIVERSITY housing, nor be present in other areas of campus except those places where all students are welcome to bring pets. Similarly, puppies who are being raised/trained in preparation for participating in formal service animal training are not permitted in University housing or on campus except where pets are allowed.”

23. Summary • It isn’t enough to know about the DOJ rules for service animals these days; you can’t ignore possible overlap with the HUD guidelines or 504, either. But you MUST know more about your State law. • Don’t expect the State law to be as neat or as direct as what we are used to from DOJ or HUD. • Make sure you research your State law thoroughly or you will miss important nuances that may impact significantly on how you interpret the State law for practical purposes.

24. Q & A

25. Jane E. Jarrow, Ph.D. Disability Access Information and Support (DAIS)JaneJarrow@aol.comVisit www.daisclasses.com for information about online professional development classes from DAIS – including classes regarding animals on campus!

26. Session Evaluation Please see session moderator for paper evaluation form or complete the evaluation online.