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I. OVERVIEW<\/strong><\/p>\n In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and other applicable federal and state law, the College may be required to accommodate an otherwise qualified individual with a disability by making a reasonable modification in its services, programs or activities. This Policy addresses the use of Service Animals and other animals on campus by qualified individuals with disabilities or individuals authorized to provide training.<\/p>\n II. DEFINITIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n A. Service Animal \u2013 an animal 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. The work or tasks performed by a Service Animal must be directly related to the handler’s disability. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting individuals who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds, providing nonviolent protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during 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 may or may not have been licensed by a state or local government or a private agency.<\/p>\n B. Emotional Support Animal \u2013 an animal selected or prescribed to an individual with a disability by a healthcare or mental health professional to play a significant part in a person’s treatment process (e.g., in alleviating the symptoms of that individual’s disability). An emotional support animal does not assist a person with a disability with activities of daily living and does not accompany a person with a disability at all times. An emotional support animal is not a “Service Animal\u201d.<\/p>\n III. ANIMALS ON CAMPUS<\/strong> IV. PROCEDURES AND RESPONSIBILITIES REGARDING ANIMALS ON CAMPUS<\/strong><\/p>\n A. Responsibilities of the Animal Owner\/Handler<\/p>\n 1. Registration<\/p>\n a. Students may contact the Office of Disability Services to voluntarily register their Service Animal prior to bringing the service animal onto campus. Disability Services can support students on campus with Service Animals by informing appropriate College faculty and staff of the animal\u2019s presence, informing first responders, and to assist with the service animal\u2019s access to areas within the College campus.<\/p>\n b. Students who wish to bring an emotional support animal to school must request a reasonable accommodation through the Office of Disability Services. Documentation from a qualified treatment provider verifying a qualifying disability and the need to have an emotional support animal as an accommodation will be needed for approval.<\/p>\n 2. Care and Supervision<\/p>\n a. The care and supervision of any animal is the responsibility of the animal\u2019s owner and\/or handler. The handler must ensure the animal is in good health and has been inoculated and licensed in accordance with local regulations with the burden of proving licensure and inoculation on the owner and\/or handler. Animals must wear a rabies tag at all times.<\/p>\n b. The animal must be under the control of the handler at all times and may not be left alone. A Service Animal must be restrained by a leash or other appropriate device that does not exceed six (6) feet in length or otherwise be under the control of the handler if the leash or tether will interfere with the ability of the Service Animal to perform required tasks.<\/p>\n c. The owner and handler of the animal is responsible for any damage of personal property or any injuries to an individual caused by the animal.<\/p>\n d. The handler must ensure the animal is \u201chousebroken\u201d and trained and must clean up and remove all animal waste created by the animal.<\/p>\n e. If the animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it, the college may ask that the animal be removed.<\/p>\n B. Responsibilities of the College Community<\/p>\n If the need for a Service Animal is obvious, College officials may not question the presence of the animal on campus. If the need for a Service Animal is not obvious, College officials are permitted to ask the handler two questions:<\/p>\n 1. Is the animal required because of a disability?<\/p>\n 2. What work or task(s) has the animal been individually trained to perform?<\/p>\n At no time may a College official require a Service Animal to demonstrate the tasks for which they have been trained nor may they inquire as to the nature of the individual\u2019s disability.<\/p>\n If another student on campus has a covered disability under the ADA and it includes an allergic reaction to animals and that person has contact with a Service Animal, a request for accommodation should be made by the student to the Office of Disability Services. All facts surrounding the concern will be considered in an effort to resolve the concern and provide reasonable accommodation for both individuals.<\/p>\n C. Removal of Service Animals<\/p>\n The College has the authority to remove a Service Animal from its facilities or properties if the Service Animal becomes unruly or disruptive, unclean and\/or unhealthy, and to the extent that the animal\u2019s behavior or condition poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others or otherwise causes a fundamental alteration in the College\u2019s services, programs, or activities.<\/p>\n It is a Class 3 misdemeanor \u201cto disguise an animal as a service animal or service animal in training\u201d. N.C.G.S. \u00a7 168-4.5. In other words, it is a crime under North Carolina law to attempt to obtain access for an animal under the false pretense that it is a Service Animal.<\/p>\n Additionally, any employee or student who violates any portion of this procedure is subject to disciplinary action.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I. OVERVIEW In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and other applicable federal and state law, the College may be required to accommodate an otherwise qualified individual with a disability by making a reasonable modification in its services, programs or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-26386","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
ADA regulations state Service Animals are allowed to accompany individuals in all areas where employees or students are permitted, with rare exceptions for health and safety reasons. Emotional Support Animals and pets are not permitted in campus buildings, unless a qualified exception is approved by the Office of Disability Services as outlined in IV.A.1.b, and may not be left in vehicles on College property. There are occasions when a student or employee may need to bring an animal with them for the purpose of meeting an educational objective. Such requests should be made to the appropriate academic Dean or to the Office of Disability Services (i.e., emotional support animals) prior to the animal being allowed inside WPCC\u2019s buildings. Individuals who bring their pets to enjoy the WPCC\u2019s grounds and trails must abide by the City of Morganton\u2019s animal control ordinances.<\/p>\n