[nagdu] Guide Dogs at School

[Marion Gwizdala]

Mark,
    There are parts of this policy that seem to be noncompliant with the 
ADA, such as the requirement to present documentation and notify the police 
department. We are working with a DOJ attorney in the Office of Civil Rights 
Education Sector to get better guidance on this issue. It seems as if there 
has been some misinformation disseminated to some educational institutions 
that is causing some challenges here.
    As for housing, the Fair Housing Act is the law in effect for campus 
housing. If you have any challenges, please feel free to get in touch with 
me.

Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark J. Cadigan" <kramc11 at gmail.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2011 8:36 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Guide Dogs at School


>
>
> Due to the recent discussion about reasonable accommodations I thought I 
> would ask the list's thoughts on a recent discussion I have just had with 
> my schools ODS office.
>
>
>
> Although I haven't posted on this list in a long time, as many of you may 
> know, I was considering getting a guyed dog. Well, I have finely been 
> accepted, and I will be receiving a dog from Fidelco on January 3. Because 
> I live in the dorms on campus, I informed the Suffolk ODS office about my 
> getting a guide dog. And, hear is a few excerpts from there service dog 
> policy. For the entire policy you can visit 
> http://www.suffolk.edu/studenthandbooks/47571.html.
>
>
>
> Requirements of Service Animals and Their Partners
>
> Training: To be present on campus, a service animal must be specifically 
> trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with 
> a disability.(no problem so far) Evidence of successful completion of a 
> recognized licensing or certification program for service animals, or a 
> letter documenting the training, is required. (What does that mean?) A 
> copy of the proof of certification should be filed with the Disability 
> Services Office (for CAS and SBS students), the Dean of Students Office 
> (for Law Students) or Human Resources Office (for 
> faculty/staff/administrators). Visitors or guests may be required to 
> provide documentation to the Suffolk University Police Department.
>
>
>
> I am not a lawyer, but does that line up with the ADA?
>
>
>
> Note - Suffolk University will consider, on a case-by-case basis, requests 
> by students who reside in residence halls for a service animal, including 
> a dog or other animal, to reside in the residence hall. Please direct such 
> requests to the Office of Disability Services at least 30 days prior to 
> the date the animal is expected to be in residence.
>
>
>
> This sounds like they want the authority to refuse acksess to some service 
> animals that don't meet with the ODS stamp of approval.
>
>
>
> On a different note, is on campus housing at a college covered under the 
> ADA, or the fare housing acksess act, or some other law I don't know 
> about?
>
>
>
> Mark J. Cadigan
> Electrical Engineering Department
> Suffolk University
> kramc11 at gmail.com
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/blind411%40verizon.net