News:m American Bar Association Urges Policies to Accommodate Disabled Persons Using Service Animals

The American Bar Association adopted a resolution in support of policies being developed in support of the accommodation of people with disabilities who utilize services as a reasonable accommodation/ means of mitigating the affects of their disabilities.

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges all federal, state, territorial, and local legislative bodies to repeal or amend all laws or policies inconsistent with the regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act and to implement policies to ensure that persons with disabilities utilizing service animals are provided access to services, programs and activities of public entities and public accommodations in compliance with the regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act in a manner that:

1. Permits the use of a service animal for individuals with physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental impairments;
2. Provides an individualized determination of whether an animal meets the definition of service animal, recognizing that service animals do a wide range of work or tasks for individuals with disabilities;
3. Provides for a size, weight and breed-neutral policy, utilizing a case-by-case analysis to determine whether a particular animal can be excluded from a public entity or public accommodation based on the particular’s animal’s actual behavior; and
4. Encourages the enforcement by the United States Department of Justice and other governmental authorities with responsibility for implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act, in situations where individuals with disabilities utilizing service animals are denied access to services, programs and activities of public entities and public accommodations.

The supporting document for the resolution provides very clear and concise picture of the legalities supporting and defining service dogs as a concept in the United States complete with relevant case law and examples in just 4 pages of text. I highly recommend everyone have this in your files and personal knowledge bank!