Staff, students and visitors will be allowed to bring service animals — including miniature horses — into city public schools when the school year starts on Wednesday.
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The new policy‘s approval came with no discussion, just a motion and a unanimous vote during Monday night’s Board of Education meeting. The new policy goes into effect immediately, according to Superintendent Anna Cutaia, who said she was not aware of anyone yet requesting use of service animals.
The board adopted the new policy “to ensure that individuals with disabilities 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,” according to the policy.
Any student or employee with a disability can request to bring a service animal into the school, though it’s not an automatic right it will happen, according to the policy.
Planning and placement teams will determine how to accommodate student needs on an individual basis, Cutaia said after the meeting.
The policy would essentially apply to service dogs, though could also apply to miniature horses under certain criteria.
Service animals would be allowed into schools or on school property, including vehicles, to help individuals including those who are totally or partially blind, deaf or hearing impaired or mobility impaired.
“Animals whose sole function is to provide emotional support, well-being, comfort, companionship, or therapeutic benefits, or to act as a crime deterrent, are not service animals for the purpose of this policy,” the policy reads.
Cutaia said it would be “extraordinary” to see a miniature horse used as a service animal, but didn’t rule it out. She said the horses are included in state legislation on service animals.
“I think we’ll have some minimal guidelines because that policy in essence really is about individual student needs,” Cutaia said. “It will be highly individualized.”
Source: Stamford Advocate
