Policy Considerations to Help Your School Prepare for Service Dogs, Emotional Support Animals, and Pet Dogs on Campus

From service dogs and emotional support animals (ESAs) to your run-of-the-mill four-legged friends, boarding schools, colleges, and universities continue to field an increasing number of requests from students, faculty, and staff for permission to bring pets on campus. As dogs become more commonplace companions, showing up in dorms, classrooms, dining halls, and outdoor spaces, nearly every educational institution is looking to develop, evaluate, and/or revise its school's pet policies.

Not surprisingly, our Education Practice Group has received an uptick in inquiries from school leaders who want assistance establishing guidelines for pets on campus that align with preferred risk management practices and comply with federal laws that may apply, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA).

In this article, our team shares general recommendations for creating policies that may help support the health and well-being of dog owners and their animals and promote a more pleasant and safer experience for your entire campus community. It's essential that every school design its guidelines for pets on campus in collaboration with in-house or outside legal counsel, and in a manner that fits the distinct culture of the institution and the unique needs of its students, faculty, and staff.

What Are Some Policy Considerations for Service Dogs on Campus?

Service dogs are special animals that have been individually trained to perform tasks for a person with a disability. Because of this specific training, faculty, staff, or students who have service dogs fall under the protections set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act, which means that an educational institution cannot:

• Ask for any documentation, such as proof the animal is certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal.
• Inquire about the nature of the person's disability or ask to see medical records.
• Insist a service dog demonstrate the work or task it is trained to do.
• Mandate the dog be registered with the school.
• Charge any additional fees for having the service pet on campus.
• Make a service dog wear a vest, ID tag, or specific harness.
• Require that notification be given before a service dog comes to class.
• Restrict the type of dog breed that can be a service animal.
• Prohibit service dogs from accompanying their handler in most campus buildings, including classrooms, dining halls, and residence halls.

If it's not immediately apparent why someone requires assistance from a service dog, your school is allowed to ask these two questions to better understand the situation and the handler's needs: "Is the animal required because of a disability?" and "What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?"

Given the extent of the legal limitations that schools face when setting policies for service dogs and their owners, educational institutions may want to focus on implementing strategies aimed at creating a welcoming and supportive environment for these community members. For example, here are four potential approaches:

• Send out regular communications indicating which school administrators or departments can be contacted if a handler wants to discuss their service dog's duties, any accommodations they or their dog needs, and any concerns or questions they have.
• Adapt the school environment, from buildings to open spaces and walkways, to be accessible to handlers and their service dogs.
• Offer voluntary service dog registration and inform students, faculty, and staff of the many safety benefits of registering their animals, including alerting emergency staff in a crisis situation that there is a dog requiring evacuation.
• Share information with the entire campus community on how to properly interact with service dogs.

What Are Some Policy Considerations for Emotional Support Animals on Campus?

ESAs are known to provide comfort and companionship to people dealing with anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges and to help neurodivergent individuals navigate school, work, and life. However, unlike service dogs, emotional support dogs have not been trained to perform a specific job or task for a person with a disability, so they do not fall under the rules and regulations of the ADA. This means that schools generally have more leeway to establish campus policies for these types of pets.

Following are four areas you may want to consider as your institution defines its emotional support animal policy:

• Will you require medical documentation before permitting someone to bring an ESA on campus? Schools are allowed to request a letter from a healthcare professional attesting that an individual has a valid need for an ESA. In addition, institutions may follow up with the student, faculty member, or employee who made the request, as well as the referring doctor, therapist, or psychiatrist, to verify the information in a letter.
• Where will you allow ESAs on campus? While ESAs do not fall under ADA regulations, they are protected under the Fair Housing Act, which means faculty, staff, and students have the right to request reasonable accommodations for their dog in a dorm or other campus residence, even if there is a "no pets" policy in the building. However, the FHA provision does not extend to other areas of the campus, such as classrooms, dining halls, or libraries. Your school's policies should address where an ESA is allowed to accompany its owner, including clarifying specific outdoor areas they may use.
• Will you enforce a breed restriction for ESAs? It is highly recommended that schools consult with their legal counsel and insurance broker or carrier on whether to exclude breeds that are perceived to be a higher risk than other kinds of dogs.
• Will you require ESA owners to show proof of specific limits of liability insurance? Many schools already strongly suggest or require renters insurance for all campus residents because a policy includes critical personal property and liability coverage that the institution's insurance typically will not provide. Pet owners are financially responsible for the actions of their ESA, including any bodily injury or property damage the dog may cause. So, when a four-legged companion moves in, it's even more important that the student, faculty member, or employee dog owner has sufficient liability coverage through a renters policy—and considers the added liability protection a personal umbrella policy can offer.

What Are Some Policy Considerations for Pet Dogs on Campus?

If your school has decided to allow faculty, employees, and/or students to live with their "best friends," you have a great deal of latitude to set whatever rules you deem appropriate. Many policy considerations for ESAs are also recommended for the traditional pet dog. For example, schools should consider excluding certain dog breeds and requiring liability insurance. In addition, here are eight common policies for pet dogs that educational institutions often implement:

• The dog must be registered with campus housing or another designated office.
• The dog owner must pay a pet deposit.
• The dog owner is required to get permission from roommates and/or other fellow residents.
• There is a one-dog-per-resident limit.
• Dogs are only allowed in single-occupancy dorm rooms.
• The dog must be housebroken.
• The dog must be spayed or neutered.
• The dog's crate must meet certain size limitations.

Every Dog Owner on Campus Has a Responsibility to Care for Their Approved Animal

Due to significant differences in the definitions of and legal requirements for service dogs, ESAs, and your average Joe pup, many schools find it necessary to develop a distinct set of policies for each potential owner/animal relationship. That being said, every dog owner should have similar responsibilities pertaining to taking care of their animal, which can be stated as part of your overall pets-on-campus policy. Consider including information about the following:

• Vaccinations, licenses, and registrations are required for all dogs per local ordinances and regulations, as well as animal control and public health requirements.
• Places dogs are strictly not allowed—or where owners will need to request special permission to bring their dog—due to health and safety concerns.
• Protocols for sanitizing a dorm room or other residential area where a dog stays, disposing of dog waste, storing food, and discarding food packaging.
• Procedures to follow if a dog causes messes or damages, along with who pays for cleanup and repairs.
• Consequences if a dog is unruly or disruptive or demonstrates undesirable behaviors.

As with many policymaking processes, establishing, reviewing, and revising guidelines for service dogs, ESAs, and pet dogs on your campus can quickly become a complex endeavor. Partnering with internal and external professionals, including your legal counsel and your AssuredPartners insurance broker, will facilitate the process, help make sure you remain in compliance with the latest ADA and FHA laws, and keep you in the know about the preferred risk management practices from across the education landscape.