![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
More on service animals
Jul. 31st, 2010 01:13 amI'm stealing this wholeheartedly from Tiffany Huggard-Lee, a service dog trainer and service animal blogger from Kansas. Here's what she has to say:
Title II and III Updates – Service Animal Overview
I was honored to be a guest at the White House ADA 20th Anniversary Celebration this past Monday, and was happy to hear President Obama announce the release of the new regulations for Title II and III of the ADA. These regulations have been much anticipated by the service animal community given the substantial number of expected changes. In July of 2008, I testified at the public hearing about these changes, and I’ve been following the issue closely ever since. I will describe the changes made to the service animal rules in brief in this post, and will follow up with a more thorough analysis shortly.
Title II
Prior to the release of these regulations, there was no explicit language in Title II pertaining to service animals. The text of the regulation is the same as in the revision to Title III and can be found at 28 CFR§ 35.136.
Title III
Title III, covering public accommodations, contains most of the changes that were put forth in the NPRM several years ago. In summary, here are the key changes:
-Service animals are now defined primarily as dogs, with the exception of trained miniature horses. This means that monkeys, parrots, snakes, rabbits, etc. no longer have coverage under the ADA as service animals.
-The list of sample tasks for service animals has been greatly expanded, recognizing the increase in the types of things service animals can do for people with disabilities. Some of the notable new inclusions: detecting the presence of allergens and preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors.
-There are a few new requirements on handlers. A public accommodation may exclude a service animal if the animal is out of control and the handler does not effectively control it, or if the animal is not housebroken. The “control” aspect requires that the animal be on a leash, harness, or tether unless the handler cannot use one due to a disability or the use of one would interfere with the animal’s work. In those cases, the animal must be under control in another effective fashion.
-The DOJ guidance on what questions a public accommodation may ask is included in the regulations. These questions are whether the animal is required because of a disability, and what work or tasks the animal has been trained to perform. The regulations also state that these questions cannot be asked when the work the animal is doing is obvious.
-The fact that public accommodations may not require any proof of certification, licensing, or training is reaffirmed.
-Service animal users cannot be charged a fee because of the presence of the animal, nor required to do anything else that is not required of people not using service animals.
-Public accommodations may assess miniature horses used for service work based on whether or not the facility can accommodate the size of the horse, the handler’s control of the horse, whether the horse is housebroken, and whether there is a legitimate safely threat to having the horse present. Miniature horses are otherwise covered by the same provisions and protections given for dogs.
Title II and III Updates – Service Animal Overview
I was honored to be a guest at the White House ADA 20th Anniversary Celebration this past Monday, and was happy to hear President Obama announce the release of the new regulations for Title II and III of the ADA. These regulations have been much anticipated by the service animal community given the substantial number of expected changes. In July of 2008, I testified at the public hearing about these changes, and I’ve been following the issue closely ever since. I will describe the changes made to the service animal rules in brief in this post, and will follow up with a more thorough analysis shortly.
Title II
Prior to the release of these regulations, there was no explicit language in Title II pertaining to service animals. The text of the regulation is the same as in the revision to Title III and can be found at 28 CFR§ 35.136.
Title III
Title III, covering public accommodations, contains most of the changes that were put forth in the NPRM several years ago. In summary, here are the key changes:
-Service animals are now defined primarily as dogs, with the exception of trained miniature horses. This means that monkeys, parrots, snakes, rabbits, etc. no longer have coverage under the ADA as service animals.
-The list of sample tasks for service animals has been greatly expanded, recognizing the increase in the types of things service animals can do for people with disabilities. Some of the notable new inclusions: detecting the presence of allergens and preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors.
-There are a few new requirements on handlers. A public accommodation may exclude a service animal if the animal is out of control and the handler does not effectively control it, or if the animal is not housebroken. The “control” aspect requires that the animal be on a leash, harness, or tether unless the handler cannot use one due to a disability or the use of one would interfere with the animal’s work. In those cases, the animal must be under control in another effective fashion.
-The DOJ guidance on what questions a public accommodation may ask is included in the regulations. These questions are whether the animal is required because of a disability, and what work or tasks the animal has been trained to perform. The regulations also state that these questions cannot be asked when the work the animal is doing is obvious.
-The fact that public accommodations may not require any proof of certification, licensing, or training is reaffirmed.
-Service animal users cannot be charged a fee because of the presence of the animal, nor required to do anything else that is not required of people not using service animals.
-Public accommodations may assess miniature horses used for service work based on whether or not the facility can accommodate the size of the horse, the handler’s control of the horse, whether the horse is housebroken, and whether there is a legitimate safely threat to having the horse present. Miniature horses are otherwise covered by the same provisions and protections given for dogs.
