MICA supports the use of service animals on campus as a reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (“Section 504”). Any questions about the use of service animals should be directed to the Learning Resource Center (LRC).
A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, such as guiding people with impaired vision, alerting people with impaired hearing, protecting a person having a seizure, pulling wheelchairs, retrieving items, and performing other special tasks. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual’s disability.
Students who wish to use a service animal on MICA’s campus are strongly encouraged to contact the LRC to facilitate access and to explore other campus resources, information or disability support.
When it is not readily apparent that a dog is a service animal, MICA employees may ask only two questions to verify the animal’s status: (1) Is the dog required due to a disability; and (2) What are the tasks or work the dog has been trained to perform. Service animals are not required to wear a vest, ID tag, or specific type of harness. MICA may not request documentation regarding the individual’s disability or the training or certification of the service animal.