Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a service animal is defined as a dog, or in some cases a miniature horse, that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the animal must be directly related to the person’s disability. Animals whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals. Examples of such work or tasks conducted by a service animal include but are not limited to:

• Guiding a person who is blind
• Alerting a person who is deaf
• Retrieving items for a person using a wheelchair
• Alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure

Service animals are not considered pets as they provide an essential function for their handler. If a student has a service animal, they are not required to register their animal with the Office of Accessibility Services. CMC only requests that students with service animals notify Accessibility Services of their animal. The handler will then have a meeting with an advisor from the Office of Accessibility Services. The purpose of the meeting shall be to develop a support plan for the student and animal, to make living arrangements, and to ensure that the appropriate offices are notified of the animal. Students may be asked for further documentation when a student’s disability and the work or tasks performed by the service animal are not readily apparent. In these cases, CMC may ask (1) whether the service animal is required because of a disability; and (2) what work or tasks the animal has been trained to perform.

Service animals are generally permitted to accompany their handlers anywhere their handlers are permitted on campus, except those areas where animals are specifically prohibited because of health and safety restrictions. Restricted areas may include, but are not limited to: custodial closets, boiler rooms, facility equipment rooms, research laboratories, classrooms with research/demonstration animals, areas where protective clothing is necessary, food preparation areas including kitchens operated by Dining Services or student kitchens in residence halls and areas outlined in state law as being inaccessible to animals. If a student with a service animal must access any of these spaces with their animal, they should first contact Accessibility Services to ensure proper safety measures are in place.

False representation of a service animal is a violation of California Penal Code 365.7. A student found to have falsely represented a service animal will be in violation of the CMC Student Code of Conduct and will face disciplinary action through the student conduct process.

Under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is an animal that provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s qualified disability. ESAs are not pets and are not considered service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); rather, they are animals that have been prescribed to provide necessary support or companionship to a person with a qualifying disability.

Due to the nature of an emotional support animal accommodation, there will be additional factors to consider during the review process. These include, but are not limited to, the capability of the student to care for an animal, adherence to residential life policies regarding the animal, and appropriate temperament, registration, and vaccine status of the animal. Due to the animal coming to live on campus, there will be further review of the student's living situation, including where their room is located and if they have a roommate(s). Circumstances such as registered animal allergies in close proximity may necessitate a need for other logistical arrangements to be made should the student be approved for the accommodation. In order to make the process as efficient as possible, an additional form will need to be completed by the provider that will assist with evaluating the request. Please be advised, submitting an application and the ESA Provider form does not constitute an approval or guaranteed approval of an ESA as an accommodation. Requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and determined by Accessibility Services. 

No ESA may be on-campus housing prior to being approved as a reasonable accommodation through Accessibility Services. ESA requests must be made 60 business days before the student intends on bringing the animal to campus to allow for proper arrangements to be made. The ESA accommodation must be requested for each new academic year. Updated documentation from a provider will be necessary. Students with an ESA accommodation are expected to be in regular contact with their mental health providers to support a comprehensive treatment plan which includes an ESA.

Process for Requesting an ESA:

Step 1: Submit an application through the AIM portal 
Any CMC student who is requesting accommodations for the first time, regardless of class year, must complete the New Student Registration application to initiate the accommodation process. You must sign-in with your CMC credentials.

Step 2: Have your medical provider complete the ESA Verification Form
The ESA provider form inquires about all the necessary information regarding the request which includes (1) the verification of the diagnosis (2) description of impact on one or more of the student’s major life activities, (3) affirms that having the animal described alleviates identified symptoms of the disability or serves as a defined role in treatment, and (4) affirms that having the animal in residence is necessary for the student to effectively benefit form CMC’s on-campus housing program.

Step 3: Schedule Intake Meeting
Once Step 1 and 2 have been completed, Accessibility Services will invite you to participate in an intake meeting to help determine eligibility. During the meeting, we will collect further information related to the diagnosis and requested accommodation.

Step 4: Determination of an ESA
When evaluating a request for an ESA, Accessibility must assess whether the accommodation is necessary to ensure equal access to Residential Life. If the ESA is approved, Accessibility Services will request additional information about the ESA and the handler will be required to sign an Emotional Support Animal Residential Agreement with the Office of Residential Life prior to officially bringing the approved ESA to campus. By signing this agreement, the handler is committing to abide by this policy in addition to all county and state laws regarding animal ownership and welfare. Please note, if approved, an ESA is only permitted in housing and is not allowed in other campus areas (e.g. dining halls, classrooms, labs, athletic building, classrooms, library, etc.).

You may review the handler’s responsibilities and more information regarding violations that would warrant removal of an approved ESA in CMC’s Student Policy Regarding Animals section.