Service Animals: Rights & Responsibilities

About this Webinar:

Many people don’t understand the differences between a service animal and an emotional support animal. There’s also been a lot of confusion about the legal rights of an individual with a disability to be accompanied by a service animal. This presentation provides information on the legal status of service animals, the legal status of emotional support animals, and the various laws that apply to determine those rights. A lot of discussions come up about the Americans with Disabilities Act, but the rights of an individual to use a service animal are in several other statutes as well.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this webinar, providers should be able to:

• Define “service animal” and how that differs from the definitions of “emotional support animal” and “therapy animal.”
• Identify the rights and obligations of service animal handlers, and emotional support animal owners, in a variety of environments including:
  • Training is required for a service animal.
  • Rights of employees with disabilities to have an assistance animal go to work with them.
  • Rules for taking a service animal into public accommodations such as stores, medical offices, or hospitals; restaurants, or special events.
  • Handler obligations when taking a service animal into a public accommodation.
  • Questions a dog handler can be asked and when a dog handler might have to provide some type of documentation.
  • Housing rights of an individual with a disability to have a service animal or emotional support animal living with them.
  • Rights of disabled students, in K-12 schools and colleges, to take their service animals with them to class.
  • Whether a service animal or emotional support animal can accompany a handler on an airplane.
  • Whether a handler can be charged any fees, deposits, or cleaning expenses, because a service animal accompanies the handler.
• Review how a social worker, case manager, or other professionals can help protect the handler’s rights to use a service animal.

Presenter:

Denette Vaughn, JD - Senior Attorney;  Disability Rights Texas

Denette is currently a Senior Attorney with Disability Rights Texas. She is a member of the Texas Governor’s Committee on Disabilities service animal workgroup.

RSVP to Register!

Please RSVP for this free webinar here: https://oneop.org/event/129662/

The connection information will be emailed to you once you RSVP.