709: Animals on Campus

Responsible Office: Student Success
Responsible Officer: Dean of Students
Reference: US Department of Justice-U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Minnesota State Procedure 1B.0.1

PURPOSE

It is the policy of Minnesota State College Southeast to establish regulations for authorized animals on campus that provide a safe environment for all students, employees, visitors, and guests. MSC Southeast recognizes and supports the assistance a trained service animal can provide a student, employee, visitor, or guest with a disability. 

PART 1. POLICY

MSC Southeast shall provide a safe environment for all students, employees, visitors, and guests by establishing and enforcing regulations for animals on campus. With the exception of those animals specifically exempted and defined by this document, animals are not allowed in college buildings or state vehicles. This policy and any related procedures apply to all buildings and all members of the campus community, as well as all individuals using campus buildings, including off-campus and leased properties. 

Exemption Definitions

Subpart A. Service Animals: The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the handler's disability. Examples of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of people or sounds, pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure, retrieving items such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors. The provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship does not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service animals are defined as dogs or miniature horses that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a service animal has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person's disability. Service animals whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.

The ADA allows for assessment factors when dealing with miniature horses. In the case of having miniature horses inside MSC Southeast campus buildings, the horse must be: (1) housebroken; (2) under the owner's control; (3) be of a size and weight that is accommodatable; and (4) the horse's presence must not compromise the safety requirements necessary for safe operation of the facility.

Subpart B. Animals for Educational Purposes:  Animals and animal cadavers utilized for teaching and learning or for special events and instructional demonstrations are allowed on campus. 

Subpart C:  On-duty Police dogs:  Police dogs are allowed on campus.

Responsibility

The college is not responsible for the care or supervision of a service animal. Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal's work or the individual's disability prevents using these devices. In that case the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, or other effective controls. All service animals must be housebroken. If security or college personnel discover an animal not under control, they may call the police.

Enforcement

All employees are responsible for enforcement of this policy. When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the animal 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 service animal, or ask that the service animal demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task. 

Adopted: November 12, 2019
Reviewed: May 13, 2020; June 21, 2023
Revised: May 13, 2020; June 21, 2023