Emotional Support Animal Policy

Per the Fair Housing Act, Wilson College provides reasonable accommodations for an emotional support animal in college housing. An emotional support animal is an animal that is necessary to afford a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling when there is an identifiable relationship or nexus between the person’s disability and the assistance the animal provides. Typically, an emotional support animal is prescribed to an individual with a mental health disability; therefore, supporting documentation must be provided by a current licensed mental health professional that is an integral part of a person's treatment process.

Information for the Student:
• To request an accommodation, the student must meet the definition of a person with a disability under ADA and have that documentation on file with Accessibility Services within the Academic Success Center. Accommodations are reserved for individuals whose documentation illustrates a clear and substantial need.
•  Requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Wilson College may consider the following factors, among others, as evidence in determining whether the presence of the animal is reasonable or in the making of housing assignments for individuals with emotional support animals:

• The size of the animal is too large for available assigned housing space;
• The animal’s presence would force another individual from individual housing (e.g. serious allergies)
• The animal’s presence otherwise violates individual’s right to peace and quiet enjoyment;
• The animal is not housebroken or is unable to live with others in a reasonable manner;
• The animal’s vaccinations are not up-to-date;
• The animal poses or has posed in the past a direct threat to safety or health of the individual or others, such as aggressive behavior towards or injuring the individual or others, or potential transmission of zoonotic diseases; or
• The animal causes or has caused excessive damage to housing beyond reasonable wear and tear.

• The presence of only one ESA will be approved for a student, in order to fulfill the intent of the FHA requirements of providing support to the student with a mental health disability.

• The Housing Accommodation Committee, comprised of representatives from the Accessibility Services Office and Residence Life, reviews each request and determines an approval or denial of an appropriate and reasonable housing accommodation. Based on the type of request, other parties may need to be consulted and/or notified. Students will be notified, in all instances, prior to communication with other departments or individuals.

• The Housing Accommodation Committee will consider requests for college housing accommodations promptly. However, if the request for accommodation is made after the established deadline has lapsed it cannot be guaranteed that Wilson College will be able to meet the individual’s accommodation needs during the first semester or term of occupancy.

• If the need for an emotional support animal arises when an individual already resides in college housing, the student should contact the Accessibility Services Coordinator as soon as possible. Wilson College cannot guarantee that it will be able to meet the accommodation needs during the semester or term in which the request is received.

• Please note that Wilson College does not grant accommodations solely based on the recommendations of care providers. The determination is made based on
all information relevant to the documented functional limitations caused by
the disability in relation to the residential program.

• Requests for an Emotional Support Animal must be renewed on an annual basis. This includes updated mental health related paperwork.

Emotional Support Animal Request Process

1. Complete the Accommodation Request Form and submit to the Accessibility Services Coordinator along with supporting documentation from an appropriate health care provider.

Please use the following verification form to facilitate the documentation process.

ESA documentation

If not uploaded with the Accommodation Request, the Medical Documentation Form may be submitted by:

• Hand deliver to Office 207 in the Academic Support Center, second floor John Stewart Memorial Library
• Fax: (717) 262-4845
• Mail to: Accessibility Services Coordinator, Academic Success Center, 1015 Philadelphia Ave. Chambersburg, PA 17201

This request for documentation is in compliance with the Fair Housing Act and Department of Housing and Urban Development rules and regulations. For an accommodation to be considered, there must be a documented relationship and history between the treatment of the student’s disability and the emotional support animal request.

2. After the request form and appropriate documentation/medical documentation form have been submitted, the student requesting the accommodation will be contacted to arrange a meeting with the Accessibility Services Coordinator.

• After this meeting takes place, the Housing Accommodations Committee will meet and communicate approval (or denial) of the requested accommodation to the student.
• The Housing Accommodations Committee will meet monthly to discuss current ESA requests.

3. The approved student must submit documentation verifying licensure (PA requires licensure of all dogs 3 months or older), current clean health certificates, and verification that the animal has been spayed or neutered. All animal medical documentation must be submitted to the Accessibility Coordinator prior to the animal arriving on campus.

4. The approved student must sign an ESA agreement, which outlines the ESA policy. This ensures understanding of expectations while the animal is on campus.

ESA Policy

Deadlines and Submissions:

In order to ensure that you receive appropriate accommodations, you must complete the above steps by the deadline below. After the deadline has passed, accommodations cannot be guaranteed for the upcoming semester.

Returning Students: March 20 (Fall semester requests)
November 20 (Spring semester requests)
Incoming New Students (Fall Start): July 20
Incoming New Students (Spring Start): January 20