Service Animals Transportation: JLIF-1

School District 27J will comply with federal law and regulations, Colorado law and regulations, and district policy concerning the rights of persons with Service Animals, and will permit Service Animals on district property and in district transportation vehicles in accordance with 28 C.F.R. §35.136, and related regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), C.R.S. §24-34-803 and 804, and §40-9-109, and this policy JLIF.

Service Animals are defined as: Dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include, but are not limited to, guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to perform must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.

Service Animals are allowed in: Under the ADA, state and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is normally allowed to go. Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.

When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (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.

A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his or her service animal from the premises unless: (1) the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it, or (2) the dog is not housebroken. If the service animal is asked to vacate the premises, staff must provide an opportunity for the individual to obtain goods or services without the animal’s presence.

Legal Reference:  CRS 24-34-803,804

28 CFR 35.136

CRS 40-9-109

Cross Reference: JLIF Service Animals

Adopted: January 15, 2015