Service and Support Animals

The University of Maryland is committed to promoting full participation and equal access to University programs and activities for individuals with disabilities, and to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. Pursuant to these commitments, service animals are permitted on campus for persons with disabilities. As part of this commitment, policies and procedures will ensure that persons with disabilities are not subjected to discrimination or denied full and equal access to programs offered by the university based on their disability.

A service animal is a guide dog or signal dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, as defined earlier in this document. A service animal meeting this definition is not required to be licensed or certified by a state or local government or animal training program.

The University of Maryland allows service animals in all buildings, classrooms, residence halls, meetings, dining areas, recreational facilities, activities and events when the animal is accompanied on campus by individuals with a disability or who indicate the service animal provides a specific service to them

Service animals are allowed to accompany their handlers at all times and everywhere on campus, except in areas where specifically prohibited due to health, environmental or safety hazards (e.g. mechanical rooms, machine shops, custodial closets, laboratories). These determinations must be made on a case-by-case basis.

Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access to people using service animals. If it is possible, separate the person with the allergy or other animal aversions from the person with a service animal. Individuals with allergies to dogs should work through the interactive process to determine appropriate accommodations to address the issue.

The ADA does not require service animals to wear a vest, ID tag or specific harness. The handler is also not required to carry a specific identification card for the service animal.

When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed:

1. "Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?" and
2. "What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?"
   

Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.

Members of the university community who have questions or concerns regarding the behavior of a service animal or the presence of a service animal in a university facility should not direct their concerns to the individual or handler. Rather, direct all questions or concerns to the ADA/504 Coordinator.

Service animals are not required to be approved through any accommodation process.

Individuals with disabilities and service animal trainers who are accompanied by an animal being trained or raised as a service animal have the same right as individuals without disabilities to the full and free use of the roads, sidewalks, public buildings and public space. Under MD law, service animals in training can be excluded if admitting the animal would create a clear danger of a disturbance or physical harm to an individual in the place. 2017: MD Human Services Code § 7-705 (a)(4)

See also: Service animals in labs

The University of Maryland is committed to promoting full participation and equal access to University programs and activities for individuals with disabilities, and to complying with the Rehabilitation Act and Fair Housing Act. Pursuant to these commitments, an individual with a qualified disability may request to have a support animal as a reasonable accommodation in campus housing facilities. As part of this commitment, policies and procedures will ensure that persons with disabilities are not subjected to discrimination or denied full and equal access to programs offered by the university based on their disability.

• Emotional Support/Comfort Animal: An animal that provides comfort, reassurance, social interaction and other emotional benefits. The animal does not have to be trained to provide comforting. An emotional support/comfort animal is not considered a service animal. The use of an animal (i.e., as a comfort or therapy animal) may be allowed as a reasonable accommodation through established Accessibility & Disability Service procedures. The presence of the support animal must be necessary in order to provide a resident of university-provided housing who has a disability the use and enjoyment of the dwelling. There must be an identifiable relationship between the disability and the assistance or support the support animal provides to the resident. Support animals are not considered service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Support animals also are not pets.
• Therapy Animal (assistance animal): An animal that provides affection and comfort and is specifically trained to be gentle and stable in stressful situations. The use of a therapy animal may be incorporated into the treatment process as prescribed by an appropriate health care professional. A therapy animal is not considered a service animal and has received training appropriate for animal assisted therapy (ʺAATʺ) as evidenced by receipt of the Canine Good Citizen (ʺCGCʺ) certificate from the American Kennel Club (AKC), or registration by a national therapy animal organization, such as the Delta Society or Therapy Dogs International.

Students who would like to request to bring an assistance animal into their campus residence must first contact the university's Accessibility and Disability Service (ADS) office to register for an accommodation. For more information about this process and instructions for registering with ADS for a housing accommodation, please visit the Housing Accommodations website.

The requesting student must follow the university's Support Animal Guidelines. The Guidelines set forth the criteria for determining if the presence of a support animal is a reasonable accommodation, the required application process, and the resident responsibilities for maintaining a support animal in university-provided housing.

In accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and their guidance on a person’s request to have an animal as a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act, the University of Maryland does not support non-domesticated or non-traditional exotic animals as a support animal as a reasonable accommodation due to potential health and safety risks.

Animals commonly kept in households that would be considered reasonable include: dog, cat, small bird, rabbit, hamster, gerbil, other rodent, fish, turtle, or other small, domesticated animal that is traditionally kept in the home (as pets rather than for commercial purposes).

If the individual is requesting to keep a unique type of animal that is not commonly kept in households as a support animal, then the requestor has the burden of demonstrating a disability-related therapeutic need for the specific animal or the specific type of animal. They must provide supporting documentation as part of the interactive process for the accommodation that demonstrates why this particular animal is needed. Any questions should be directed to the ADA/504 Coordinator.

The University of Maryland is committed to ensuring an inclusive working environment and providing reasonable accommodations to faculty with disabilities. Any staff or faculty member making a request for a support animal should review the Support Animal Guidelines and Agreement. In order to be considered for an accommodation for a support animal, University of Maryland staff or faculty members must first go through the UHR accommodation process. Any questions should be directed to the ADA/504 Coordinator.