ANIMALS ON DISTRICT PROPERTY PROCEDURES | Administrative Procedures

8390 – ANIMALS ON DISTRICT PROPERTY PROCEDURES

General Information
1. A service animal is any dog, or miniature horse if deemed appropriate, that is individually trained to perform specific tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the purposes of this definition. The tasks may include, but are not limited to, guiding a person who is visually impaired or blind; alerting a person who is deaf or hard of hearing; pulling a wheelchair; assisting with mobility or balance; alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure; retrieving objects; or performing other special tasks. A service animal is not a pet. The use of a service animal could be a reasonable accommodation for a student with a disability on a school campus.
2. Service animals do not include animals whose sole function is to provide emotional support, comfort, therapy, companionship, therapeutic benefits, or to promote emotional well-being. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the student’s (handler’s) disability. Unless the animal is individually trained to do something that qualifies as work or a task, the animal is a pet or support animal and does not qualify for coverage as a service animal.
Approval Process for a Service Animal to Be On District Property
1. Parent/Legal Guardian completes the Request/Agreement to Use a Service Animal form and submits the form to the Principal. If the student is eighteen (18) years of age or older and emancipated, the student must complete this request form.
2. The parent/ legal guardian provides a copy of the current health certificate or report of examination to include current vaccination compliance from a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. The District shall not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal.
3. A service animal is personal property and cannot be brought onto a school campus without prior written approval from the District’s designated Service Animal Review Team (SART) consisting of the Principal, Area Superintendent, and the District Section 504/ADA Coordinator. If the student is not the primary handler for the service animal, the handler must be qualified to be on a school property and must have passed the appropriate background checks if that handler is routinely around other students on School District property. When the school receives the written request, the SART team reviews the documents and either approves or disapproves the request.
4. The Principal or designee may ask the following questions:
  1. Is the animal required because of a disability?
  2. What work or task(s) has the animal been trained to perform?

These two (2) questions may not need to be asked when it is readily apparent that an animal is trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability (e.g., the dog is observed guiding an individual who is blind or has low vision, pulling a person’s wheelchair, or providing assistance with stability or balance to an individual with an observable mobility disability). The Principal or designee may not ask additional questions in regard to the student’s disability and need for a service animal other than the two (2) questions noted above.

School Establishes a Plan
1. After the SART approves a student’s use of a service animal on a school campus, the school will work with the animal’s owner to:
  1. Familiarize the service animal to the campus prior to the actual start date.
  2. Orient the service animal to the school faculty and students.
  3. Establish an educational program to educate others on proper behavior etiquette around a service animal.
  4. Establish a place for the service animal to urinate/defecate.
  5. Establish an evacuation plan to include the student with the service animal and practice this plan in accordance with emergency evacuation plan procedures.
Identification and Handling Requirements
1. The service animal must not in any way interfere with the educational process on the school campus. The behavioral expectations for the service animal and standards by which the request to use the service animal on a school campus will be evaluated are as follows:
  1. Animal is clean and does not have a foul odor.
  2. Animal is under control of its handler.
  3. Animal does not urinate or defecate in inappropriate locations.
  4. Animal shall not make unsolicited contact with persons while on school property or on the school bus.
  5. Animal’s conduct does not disrupt the normal course of school business.
  6. Animal works without unnecessary vocalization.
  7. Animal shows no aggression toward people or other animals.
  8. Animal does not solicit or steal food or other items from persons while on school property including the school bus.
  9. Animal shall have a harness, leash, or other tether, unless either the handler is unable because of a disability to use such device or the use of such device would interfere with the service animals safe, effective performance of work or tasks. When a harness, leash, or other tether cannot be used due to the handler’s disability or interference of such device, then the service animal must be under the handler’s control through another method such as voice control, signals, or other effective means.
  10. Animal has been specifically trained to perform its duties in public and is accustomed to being out in public.
  11. Animal must be able to lie quietly beside the handler without blocking aisles, doorways, etc.
  12. Animal is trained to urinate or defecate on command.
  13. Animal stays within twenty-four (24) inches of the handler at all times unless the nature of a trained task requires it to be working at a greater distance.
2. The District has the discretion to exclude or remove the animal from the property if:
  1. the animal is out of control and the handler does not or cannot take effective action to control it; or
  2. the animal is not housebroken.
Transporting a Service Animal
1. Brevard Public Schools recommends that best practices for transporting a service animal be followed as found in the Florida Association for Pupil Transportation (FAPT), Service Animals on School Buses – Best Practices Guide (June 2004). The recommendations from FAPT are as follows:
  1. The service animal’s owner is responsible to provide information to the driver and bus assistant regarding what critical commands are needed for daily interaction and emergency/evacuation.
  2. The animal’s owner is responsible to provide an orientation to students riding the bus with the service animal regarding its functions and how students should interact with the animal.
  3. It is recommended that the service animal be positioned on the floor, at the student’s feet. A representative of the Transportation Office will meet with the animal’s owner to determine whether the service animal should be secured on the bus with a harness, leash, or other tether.
  4. The bus driver and attendant need to know the critical verbal commands for the service animal. The animal’s owner is responsible to provide this information to the bus driver and bus assistant. The service animal should practice the bus evacuation drills with the student.
  5. Situations that would cause cessation of District bus transportation of the service animal:
    1. The service animal bites someone.
    2. The service animal’s behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.
    3. The service animal urinates or defecates on the bus.
    4. The service animal does not remain in the designated area.
  6. If transportation is suspended due to any of the above reasons, transportation could be reinstated after additional training or medical issues are resolved. Parent/Legal Guardians are informed of these procedures prior to the first day of transportation.
Brevard Public Schools does not provide service animals and does not assume responsibility for training, daily care, or healthcare of service animals. The provision of a service animal is not documented on an Individual Educational Plan (IEP), Educational Plan (EP), or a Section 504/ADA Accommodation Plan. Upon disapproval of a student’s use of a service animal on a school campus by the SART, the parent/legal guardian has the right to appeal per the IDEA Procedural Safeguards or the Section 504/ADA Procedural Safeguards, as appropriate.