The Dillon District Four Board of Trustees approved a policy on service animals at their June meeting. Motion was made by Trustee Ethel Taylor and seconded by Trustee Kenneth Bethea. The policy reads as follows:
SERVICE ANIMALS
Purpose: To establish the basic structure for the presence and accommodation of service animals on district property.
To ensure that individuals with disabilities (students, staff and visitors) are permitted to participate in and benefit from district programs, activities and services, and to ensure that the district does not discriminate on the basis of disability, the board will permit individuals with disabilities to use service animals in district buildings, on district property and on vehicles that are owned, leased or controlled by the district in accordance with this policy and procedures and applicable state and federal laws and regulations.
Service animal means any dog 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 will be directly related to the individual’s disability. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, the following.
– assisting an individual who is visually impaired with navigation and other tasks
– alerting an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds
– pulling a wheelchair
– assisting an individual during a seizure
– alerting an individual to the presence of allergens
– retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone
– providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to an individual with mobility disabilities
– helping a person with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors
The provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort or companionship does not constitute work or tasks for the purpose of this definition.
School administrators may inquire of the owner or handler of a service animal whether the animal is required because of a disability and the specific tasks that the animal has been trained to perform, but will not ask questions about the nature or extent of an individual’s disability or require medial documentation, a special ID card or training documentation for the animal or ask that the animal demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.
The service animal must be under the control of its handler at all times. The district may ask the individual to remove his/her animal from the premises if the animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or if the animal is not housebroken. Additionally, if the presence of the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others or would require a fundamental alteration to the service, program or activity of the district, the district may be able to exclude the service animal. The district is not responsible for the care and/or supervision of the service animal.
The superintendent’s designee, director for program for exceptional children, will develop and disseminate procedures to implement this policy and accommodate individuals with disabilities requesting use of a service animal in district buildings and on district property and vehicles. The director for program for exceptional children will ensure that all individuals involved in a situation where a service animal will regularly accompany an individual with disabilities are informed of this policy and the procedures governing this issue. -Adopted 6/18/12
Legal references:
A. Federal statutes:
1. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C.A. Section 1400, et seq.
2. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C.A. Section 21-794.
3. Title II of the American with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C.A. Sections 12131-12165 – Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public entities.
4. Education of the Handicapped Act, Public Law 93-380, amended by Public Law 94-142, Education of All Handicapped Children Act.
5. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004.
