Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals (ESAs)

It is not uncommon to see students or participants in campus programs come onto campus with an animal. Service animals can enter all places of public accommodation at Cleveland State University. Other forms of assistance animals like emotional support animals, therapy dogs, or comfort animals are not granted the same access to places of public accommodation at CSU. Below is information about Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals including information about places they are permitted to access.

SERVICE ANIMALS

Service animals are typically dogs and are trained to perform a function to assist a person with a disability. People are usually familiar with dogs used by people who are blind. There are many other tasks that service animals can be trained to do that is less obvious. Service animals, under law, are afforded access to all campus facilities. There are only two questions that handlers can be asked regarding their service animals. Is this a service animal required to assist with a disability? What work or task has the dog been trained to perform? If the handler gives satisfactory answers to these questions, they are permitted to bring the dog in as a service animal. According to regulations only dogs and miniature horses qualify as service animals. You can view Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals to learn more.

Service Animals in Campus Buildings

Students or other campus participants are not required to register with Disability & Testing Services to attend classes, campus events or use campus facilities. It is strongly recommended that students who are handlers of service animals register with Disability and Testing Services. There are other accommodations and services that people with disabilities would benefit from through our office. We find it to be helpful in advocacy efforts when students who are using service animals are registered with us.

People bringing service animals on campus are required to keep their dog under control and take care of maintenance including cleaning up after toileting and proper grooming. Handlers may also be held responsible for any damage caused by their dog. If a handler is not able to control their service animal or if it presents a threat to others (aggressive behavior) they will be asked to leave the event or campus facilities.

If there are safety concerns related to the presence of a service animal in campus activities or lab spaces please bring it to the attention of Disability & Testing Services or the Office for Protected Rights to address your concerns. A service animal cannot be denied for a participant unless it presents a safety hazard, creates a fundamental alteration to a program, is not under control, or is acting in an aggressive manner toward others. Any safety hazard must be actual and not perceived.

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

Residents in the dorms may qualify to have emotional support animals (ESA) living in their rooms with them. An ESA does not have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities. They can be a broad range of common household animals which are permitted in living environments as part of a treatment plan to provide companionship, relieve loneliness and sometimes help with depression, anxiety and certain phobias. Based on HUD guidance common household animals are domesticated animals like dogs, cats, small birds, rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, other rodents, fish, turtles or other small domesticated animals that is traditionally kept in the home for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes.

ESAs are not afforded the same right to access places of public accommodations as service animals under law. Students or residents living in dorms also need to provide documentation and register with Disability & Testing Services and after approval from ODTS meet with RLH for clearance before bringing their ESA onto campus. They are also only permitted to have the ESA in their dorm rooms or be able to walk them outside of campus buildings. Students who take their approved ESAs into campus buildings, aside from their dormitory, may be referred to Community Standards and Compliance for a Student Conduct Violation.

Assistance Animals in the Dorms

Students must be approved by Disability & Testing Services and then meet with staff from RLH to go over rules and get clearance to bring in the animal before bringing ESA's into residence halls. Students need to abide by the following guidelines outlined in the Process for Requesting an Emotional Support Animal (ESA).

Process for requesting an ESA inCampus Housing

1. Complete Application with Disability and Testing Services and provide rellevant documentation such as the ESA Information Packet, ESA Clinician Packet, photo of animal, proof of vaccination, proof of registration with county for dogs.
2. Meet with Disability and Testign Services staff for the affiliation meetign to discuss approval of the accommodation

3. Meet with RLH staff to learn about rules and responsibilities as well as to get clearance for brining the animal into your dorm room.

   Students are not to bring any animals in viollation of the RLH rules for pets until all steps in this process are complete.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Cleveland State Policy 3344-79-01 Animals on campus
• CSU Policy 3344-79-02 Service Animals
• Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals
• Fair Housing Act Assistance Animal Guidance