The fur is flying, so to speak, regarding the presence of service animals in public schools. As the popularity of service animals for children with disabilities grows, the number of claims made by parents that their child should be allowed to bring a service animal into school will likely increase as well. So what is a school district to do? This article serves as a brief introduction to service animals in the school environment.
What Is a “Service Animal”?
To begin, it is important to know what exactly is meant by the term “service animal.” The definition is certainly not broad enough to include a student’s untrained puppy, Fido, but is also not so restrictive as to include only seeing-eye dogs for the blind and visually impaired. According to the current version of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is “any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items.” Basically, the current definition indicates that a service animal could potentially include any properly trained animal that assists a disabled person.
A unique feature of this definition is that although it requires a service animal to be “individually trained,” there is no requirement that the service animal be formally certified as a service animal or meet certain standards for training. Thus, although school districts may request information about what tasks the animal has been trained to perform, currently there is no legal authority for requiring documentation of formal licensing as a prerequisite to allowing the animal into the school.
Laws Related to Service Animals
School districts may come under attack for refusing to allow service animals into the schools under the authority of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and/or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The particulars of each type of claim are discussed below.
Section 504
Section 504 states that no qualified individual with a disability shall, on the basis of that disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination. The Office of Civil Rights has advised that a school district would violate Section 504 by disallowing the use of service dogs if prohibiting the service dog would effectively deny a student with disabilities the equal opportunity to participate in or benefit from an educational program.
To illustrate a Section 504 claim: the parents in Sullivan v. Vallejo City Unified School District, successfully used a combination of Section 504 and California state law as a basis for requiring a school district to allow use of a service animal during the school day by a student suffering from cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, and partial deafness. Despite the school district’s arguments that the dog was unnecessary and created space and health concerns, the court determined that the student reasonably used the dog to overcome physical limitations of her cerebral palsy. The district’s failure to accommodate the use of the dog therefore deprived her of the opportunity to participate in the school’s educational programs, in violation of Section 504.
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that no qualified individual with a disability shall, on the basis of that disability, be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity. Analysis under the ADA is similar to analysis under Section 504, with the key question being whether a service animal is a reasonable accommodation for a student with a disability in order to participate in an educational program. For example, in Bakersfield City School District, the Office for Civil Rights found that a school district violated the ADA and Section 504 by excluding a dog from school without following the proper procedures for reviewing the dog’s training, function, or potential impact as an accommodation for the student’s educational program.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is premised on the idea that disabled students are entitled to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) through the school district. As opposed to Section 504 and the ADA, the IDEA focuses on the individual needs of a student qualifying for special education. IDEA claims are focused on whether a student has been denied a free appropriate public education (FAPE) due to a school district’s action or lack of action regarding the student’s educational services.
Allegations that a district’s refusal to allow a service animal into the school denies a student a free appropriate public education can be difficult to make, particularly if the student has been given other services that provide the same function as a service dog. For example, in Collier County School District, an Administrative Law Judge determined that a student with a seizure disorder was not denied FAPE when the school district refused to allow a service dog to assist a student in school, because the same services were being provided by the student’s one-to-one aide. The ALJ in Collier County noted that the dog’s primary purpose was to comfort the child in the event of a seizure, which was a function that was currently being performed by the student’s one-to-one aide. The dog was not trained to alert teachers or other adults of the onset of a seizure. Since both the service dog and the one-to-one aide were able to provide the same basic services to the student, this ultimate decision was simply what method of providing services should be used. Since school districts are able to choose the appropriate methodology for students with disabilities as long as the selected method provides FAPE, the District was properly able to choose the aide over the service dog to provide services to the student. Thus, the ALJ determined that the student was not denied a free appropriate public education when the student was not permitted to use a service dog during the day.
Considerations Regarding Service Animals
With the above laws in mind, school districts must evaluate each individual request for a service animal and decide if use of a service animal is required. A school district may reasonably require documentation of (1) the student’s medical need for a service animal from a licensed physician, (2) the animal’s health, and (3) the animal’s individual training in order to determine whether allowing the service animal is necessary. If a school district decides that permitting the use of a service animal is required by law, the district may wish to establish school procedures for the animal, which may include the following:
- Determining who will be responsible for the supervision and care of the service animal during the school day;
- Deciding if there are any areas of school property from which the service animal should be restricted because the areas may pose a risk to the health and safety of the animal or others (for example, laboratories and food preparation areas);
- Notifying the fire department that a service animal is present at the school so that appropriate emergency procedures may be developed; and
- Alerting parents that a service animal will be present on campus, so that students with severe pet allergies may notify an administrator and proper precautions can be taken.
A school district should also be aware that service animals are not permitted to have unbridled access to schools in every situation. For instance, a district may be able to exclude a service animal from the school if the presence of the animal poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others, the animal is out of control, or the presence of the animal would fundamentally alter a school program. The district may wish to consider developing procedures for the exclusion of the animal, as well as an appeals process a parent may use if the animal is excluded.
This article serves only as an introduction to the use of service animals in schools, and is in no way an exhaustive analysis of the challenges and considerations a school district may face when contemplating allowing a service animal in the schools. A school district should consult with legal counsel prior to making any final decisions regarding service animals in the schools.
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