Service Animal Policy

Kenyon is committed to compliance with state and federal laws regarding individuals with disabilities. Service Animals (Service Dogs) that accompany persons with disabilities may accompany the individual with a disability (owner) everywhere on campus except in situations where safety may be compromised or where the service animal may interfere with the fundamental nature of the activities being conducted.  It is the policy of Kenyon College that service animals assisting individuals with disabilities shall be permitted in all Kenyon facilities, programs, and activities except as described above or otherwise governed by applicable law. 

Definition of Service Animals:

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), defines a service animal as “any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.”  Animals which are not considered service animals are:

•  Any animals besides dogs – regardless of whether they are domestic or trained (though there is a special provision permitting miniature horses as well)
• Those animals that provide emotional support, well-being, comfort or companionship, as such does not constitute work or tasks under applicable law

Examples of such work or tasks under the law include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, alerting individuals to the presence of allergens, retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task an animal has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.  For information concerning Emotional Support Animals, please contact the Director of Student Accessibility and Support Services (SASS; hereafter referred to as the Director) or see the Emotional Support Animal Policy.

Requirements for Service Dogs:

1. The student must be in full control of the dog at all times. In areas outside a student’s on-campus room or apartment, Service Dogs must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the dog’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices.  In the latter cases, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.
2. The care and supervision of a Service Dog is solely the responsibility of the student owner/handler. The dog must be maintained (kept clean) and may not create safety hazards for other people.  In addition, owners are urged, but not required, to have the service animal wear a descriptive vest when in public places so that others will recognize the dog as a working animal.
3. The student is responsible for immediately cleaning up and properly disposing of the dog’s waste and is responsible for having the equipment to do so. People who are physically unable to accomplish this task are responsible for arranging for the proper clean up and any associated costs.  The College retains the right to designate a particular area for the dogs to relieve themselves.
4. The College also may designate specific areas as off-limits to service animals due to health and safety concerns for the animal, the owner, and/or other community members.
5. Service Dogs may not pose a direct threat to the health and safety of persons on the College campus. State and local ordinances regarding animals apply to Service Dogs, including requirements for immunizations, licensing, noise, restraint, at-large animals, and dangerous animals.  Students with questions about these ordinances should contact the Director.
6. The student, not the College, is responsible for the actions of the service animal including bodily injury or property damage. In addition, the College retains the right to remove the dog* should the dog become a direct threat to the health and safety of others.
7. Four assessment factors may be considered in determining whether a miniature horse may be accommodated at the College. The assessment factors are (1) whether the miniature horse is housebroken; (2) whether the miniature horse is under the owner/ handler’s control; (3) whether the facility can accommodate the miniature horse’s type, size, and weight; and (4) whether the miniature horse’s presence will compromise legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operation of the facility.

  *A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove their service animal from the premises unless: (1) the animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or (2) the animal is not housebroken. When there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence.

Making Arrangements for Service Dogs on Campus:         

Students with disabilities who require a Service Dog on-campus are requested to self-identify as a person with a disability that requires a Service Dog to the Director as soon as possible after deciding to enroll at the College. The Director will provide information on expectations for the Service Dog to the student and communicate to other College community members to ease the transition of the student.

Please complete the Service Animal Registration Form to register your service animal. The College will follow up directly to discuss housing options.

Appeal

The student may appeal any decision concerning the Service Animal made by the Director. The appeal will be considered only on the basis of written materials, information, and/or documentation only.

The appeal must be based upon one or more of the following criteria:

• Procedural error(s) made in the consideration of the decision
• New information unavailable at the time of the decision
• The decision was clearly erroneous based on the written record

 Upon receipt of the appeal, the Dean of Students (or their designee) will review all of the relevant information and provide a written response within five (5) business days either granting the appeal and modifying the initial decision, or denying the appeal and maintaining the initial decision. The Dean’s decision shall be final.

Nothing in the policy shall prohibit a student who believes that they may have been subjected to disability discrimination to utilize the College’s Section 504 Grievance Procedures and/or to pursue a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights.