Service Animals

Policy Statement

CCA complies with all applicable laws in permitting the use of service animals by members of the CCA community and visitors on campus.

“A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability.”

Americans with Disabilities Act

A service animal is typically permitted to accompany the student at all times and in all campus locations where students are permitted access.

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Procedures

Registering a Service Animal

Members of the CCA Community may have a CCA ID printed for their service animal by registering their service animal with Access / Disability Services.

Schedule an appointment to begin the registration process.

To complete the registration process, you may be asked to provide the following:

Information regarding the task the service animal is trained to perform and how it relates to the handler's disability.
The vaccination history of the animal.
Proof of the animal's licensing with San Francisco, CA.
A recent photo of the service animal so that Public Safety can print an ID.

Once registration is complete, Public Safety will print an ID the animal may wear, or the handler may carry while on campus.

Staff and Faculty may ask a service animal handler the following questions
Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
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.

Exceptions

Service animals may not be permitted in certain areas of campus if a service animal's presence threatens the integrity of health or safety.

Restricted areas may include but are not limited to the following areas:

Custodial closets,
Boiler rooms,
Facility equipment rooms,
Areas where protective clothing is necessary,
Wood and metal shops, and
Rooms with heavy machinery.

Exceptions to restricted areas may be granted case-by-case by contacting access@cca.edu.

The staff member responsible for directing or supervising the restricted area has superior knowledge of the health and safety risks and will be consulted during the interactive process.

Definitions

Service Animal

A service animal is a dog (any breed or size) that must be trained to perform a task directly related to a person's disability.

If the dog’s mere presence provides comfort, it is not a service animal under the ADA. But if the dog is trained to perform a task related to a person’s disability, it is a service animal under the ADA.

For example, if the dog has been trained to sense that an anxiety attack is about to happen and take a specific action to help avoid the attack or lessen its impact, the dog is a service animal.

Service Animal Tasks

Here are some examples of tasks related to someone's disability that a Service Animal may be trained to perform:

A person who uses a wheelchair may have a dog that is trained to retrieve objects for them.
A person with depression may have a dog that is trained to perform a task to remind them to take their medication.
A person with PTSD may have a dog that is trained to lick their hand to alert them to an oncoming panic attack.
A person who has epilepsy may have a dog that is trained to detect the onset of a seizure and then help the person remain safe during the seizure.

Under Control

The ADA requires that service animals be under the control of the handler at all times. In most instances, the handler will be the individual with a disability or a third party who accompanies the individual with a disability. The service animal must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered while in public places unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the person’s disability prevents the use of these devices.

In that case, the person must use voice, signal, or other effective means to maintain control of the animal. For example, a person who uses a wheelchair may use a long, retractable leash to allow her service animal to pick up or retrieve items. She may not allow the dog to wander away from her and must maintain control of the dog, even if it is retrieving an item at a distance from her. Or, a returning veteran who has PTSD and has great difficulty entering unfamiliar spaces may have a dog that is trained to enter a space, check to see that no threats are there, and come back and signal that it is safe to enter. The dog must be off-leash to do its job but may be leashed at other times.

Under control also means that a service animal should not be allowed to bark repeatedly in a lecture hall, theater, library, or other quiet places. However, if a dog barks just once, or barks because someone has provoked it, this would not mean that the dog is out of control.

If a service animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it, staff may request that the animal be removed from the premises.

Direct Threat

CCA is not required to allow access to service animals that directly threaten others, are not under the handler’s care and control, or would fundamentally alter the nature of the entity's goods, services, or programs.

A "direct threat" is a significant risk to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated by modifying policies, practices, or procedures or by providing auxiliary aids or services. For example, a dog that bites without provocation may pose a threat.

Additional Information

Responsibilities of Service Animal Handlers on CCA's Campus:

Ensure that the service animal receives and maintains up-to-date vaccinations and immunizations against disease and is otherwise in good health (service animals may be removed that are a health and safety threat)
Care for and supervise the service animal
Maintain control of the animal at all times (service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered unless the individual’s disability prevents using these devices or these devices interfere with the service animal’s safe, effective performance of tasks, in which case the handler must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal or other effective controls)
Ensure the cleanup of all animal waste
Ensure that the animal is on a leash, if appropriate for the animal, at all times. It is recommended but not mandated that the animal wear some type of easily recognized identification symbol (i.e., harness, backpack, ID badge provided by Public Safety) or that the handler carry an ID badge
Take financial responsibility for any property damage caused by the service animal
Notify the general public of expectations of behavior around the service animal as necessary to ensure health and safety.
Examples of these notifications are as follows:
- Unless you are invited to do so, do not touch or feed a service animal
- Do not come between or attempt to separate a service animal from its handler
- Do not deliberately startle a service animal
- Allow a service animal to accompany the student at all times and everywhere on campus except where service animals are prohibited.

Removal of Service Animals

The college’s administration may ask the handler of a service animal to remove the animal if the animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective control or the animal is not housebroken. An animal may be denied access if there is evidence that the animal will cause harm or endanger the health and safety of others.

Contacts

access@cca.edu

Access / Disability Services