[blindlaw] Issues on Assistance Dogs in Colleges

wmodnl wmodnl wmodnl at hotmail.com
Tue Dec 3 04:56:41 UTC 2013


These regressive policies you are refering to should not be surprising to you at all.  Service dog handlers seeking housing in many places need to go through these policies. Much of the reasoning for this is that, massive fraud is existing affecting all of us.  As the saying goes, we pay for other's behavior.


Sent from my iPad

> On Dec 2, 2013, at 7:55 AM, "Norman, Gary C. (CMS/OSORA)" <Gary.Norman at cms.hhs.gov> wrote:
> 
> Greetings:
> 
> 
> Do find policies in relation to assistance dog access at colleges, the contents of which are  contained below. These are indeed regretful policies. As bothersome and even discriminatory as the issue in Mass. May be, misinformed policies concerning assistance dogs in the education setting is not new.
> 
> Institutions of post-secondary education, as well as secondary institutions, have many, many issues and reactions, sometimes legitimate but more often than not negative or even discriminatory, when it relates to assistance dog access. I have even consulted on one such case.
> 
> At our first animal law symposium, one of the speakers presented on the issue of the IDEA and high school students and their assistance dogs in the school house. There is a good law review article a student published in the Baltimore Law Forum, which I may transmit if interested. A progressive institution as relates to assistance dogs is my own alma matre (Wright State University) who has a play area with large lawn and obstacles for service animals. This issue does spark my interest in having the Prometheus Group do some outreach to dog handlers in the region and write correspondence to the Board of regents, inquiring how Maryland colleges are educated on these issues. I do hope the Animal Law Section will explore this issue in the future.
> 
> My article on animals and ADR just published, now being on newsstands, well really in the mail or on-line. While the article did not discuss explicitly ADR as relates to colleges and assistance dogs, I am sure ADR tools, such as facilitation, would be helpful.
> 
> 
> Sincerely,
> Gary
> 
> Addendum
> Guide Dog Users of Massachusetts sought the assistance of our organization,
> as well as the American Council of the Blind, to join  with them in their
> complaint to the Department of Justice regarding the establishment of some
> regressive service dog policies by the fifteen community colleges in
> Massachusetts.
> 
> Guide Dog Users of Massachusetts believed that this policy contained some
> provisions that did not treat individuals using service dogs with the utmost
> fairness and equality. They asked for our assistance, as well as the
> American Council of the Blind, because it has become known that this
> community college issue is one that crosses the borders of various states.
> 
> Here is the synopsis of the provisions that we, collectively, took issue
> with:
> 
> 1. Students, staff, and visitors using a service dog must contact the Office
> of Disabled Students before arriving on campus to inform college officials
> of his or her use of a service dog.
> 
> 2. The student, staff, or visitor is told that they may voluntarily complete
> two forms -- a service dog registration form and an acknowledgement of
> responsibilities.
> 
> Our GDUI leaders learned from our Massachusetts affiliate that other
> community colleges in New York, California, Vermont, and Washington have
> similar, if not worse policies toward service dog users.  We found out that
> The San Diego Community College District requires service dog users to
> complete numerous tasks, including meeting with the Office for Disabled
> Students, completing an assessment form, and placing a service dog sticker
> on their student identification card.  Such policies, and the ramifications
> they hold for disabled individuals throughout the country, are disturbing to
> us.
> 
> We are happy to report that our President, Laurie Mehta and a delegation of
> our Board members, met via the telephone, with Dr. Gail Conrad, Director of
> the Disabled Students Programs for The  San Diego Community College
> District. After a very productive meeting with Dr. Conrad, we were told that
> the District appreciated our input and is currently working on an update to
> their regressive policy.
> 
> We want to thank Guide Dog Users of Massachusetts for reaching out to us, so
> we could show a united front on this official complaint to the Department of
> Justice.
> 
> Additionally, we hope to resolve the issue  with The San Diego Community
> College District without the need for further debate.
> 
> Very truly yours,
> 
> Robert Acosta
> 
> Chair,
> 
> Public relations Committee
> 
> Guide Dog users, INC.
> 
> <winmail.dat>
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