Stephanie Lovett-Bowman, Wednesday, February 02, 2011 | Filed under: School Board Policies
In September, the U.S. Department of Justice announced new regulations governing “service animals” in schools. Those regulations become effective March 15, 2011, and require school districts to modify their policies, practices and procedures to permit the use of service animals by individuals with disabilities.
According to the new federal regulations, the definition of “service animal” is limited to dogs and miniature horses that have been 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. The work or tasks that the animal performs must be directly related to the handler’s disability. Therapy dogs or emotional support animals do not qualify as “service animals." Schools may exclude service animals that (1) are out of control or (2) are not housebroken.
For more information, click here: http://tinyurl.com/4p56xvy.