If you are requesting an accommodation for dietary and/or allergy related needs, you must follow the 3-Step process outlined under Dining Accommodations on the Office of Disability Services website.
Process for Requesting Housing Accommodations
Housing accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis, according to documented need in the supporting evidence in addition to recommendations given in the medical documentation. Please be advised that students are not making a request for a specific housing assignment, but rather a request for an accommodation.
The Housing Accommodations Committee, which is comprised of staff from the Office of Disability Services, Residential Life, Student Health Center and Counseling and Psychological Services, will review the student’s documentation and determine an appropriate and reasonable housing assignment.
The major objective of the Housing Accommodation Committee is to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to participate in residential life and to assess whether Susquehanna’s standard residential housing expectations cannot be met for a student due to substantial limitations that exist as a result of the student’s documented disability and current symptomology.
A student’s preference, rather than necessity, for a living environment or location will not be honored (e.g., student with ADHD or a learning disability seeking a single room to serve as a quiet undisturbed place to study represents a preference, but not a necessity). Accommodations are not granted solely on the recommendations of care providers, but on the documented functional limitations posed by the student’s disability under the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Housing accommodations are not intended to resolve roommate conflicts, circumvent housing procedures, and/or to satisfy housing preferences. Documentation must establish a clear link between the disability or disabilities and requested accommodation(s) and explain why regular housing options would not be sufficient to meet the needs of the student. While every effort is made to accommodate all approved requests, requests made during the semester may not be possible to implement as spaces (especially single rooms) are very limited.
Please be advised that single rooms are reserved for individuals whose documentation illustrates substantial needs, and for whom a standard housing assignment with a roommate is not viable and cannot be addressed by alternative options.
In determining the extent of a student’s limitation and whether the requested accommodation is reasonable (e.g., meets the threshold of necessity under the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act) the following is considered:
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whether the request is a disability-related need
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the nature, severity, duration and impact of the student’s condition
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the impact on the student’s health if the request were not granted
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the care provider’s qualifications for making the recommended accommodations
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whether the request is an integral component of the current treatment plan for the condition
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whether the request is determined by the care provider to be essential (vs beneficial)
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if there are any alternative options that will meet the student’s need(s).
To submit a request for housing accommodations, please follow the 3-Step process as outlined on the Disability Services page.
Emotional Support Animal/Assistance Animal
Susquehanna University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who seek to bring an emotional support animal (ESA) to campus must adhere to the guidelines described on page 32 of the student handbook. Documentation from a qualified professional is necessary in determining the need for an ESA as part of the reasonable accommodation process conducted by the Office of Disability Services. Students are not permitted to keep emotional support animals in residential buildings without prior approval as a reasonable accommodation through the Office of Disability Services. Please refer to the steps below in making a request for an ESA accommodation.
What is an Emotional Support Animal (ESA)?
An emotional support animal is a companion animal that provides therapeutic benefit to an individual with a mental or psychiatric disability. The person seeking the emotional support animal must have a verifiable disability (the reason cannot just be a need for companionship). The animal is viewed as a “reasonable accommodation” under the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHA) to those housing communities that have a “no pets” rule. In other words, just as a wheelchair provides a person with a physical limitation the equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, an emotional support animal provides a person with a mental or psychiatric disability the same opportunity to live independently. Most times, an emotional support animal will be seen as a reasonable accommodation for a person with such a disability.
What is the difference between an ESA and a Service Animal?
Service Animals are defined as dogs or miniature horses that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. These tasks can include things like pulling a wheelchair, guiding a person who is visually impaired, alerting a person who is having a seizure, or even calming a person who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The tasks a service dog can perform are not limited to this list. However, the work or task a service dog does must be directly related to the person’s disability. Service dogs may accompany persons with disabilities into places that the public normally goes. This includes state and local government buildings, businesses open to the public, public transportation, food-service facilities, and non-profit organizations open to the public. The law that allows a trained service dog to accompany a person with a disability is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is an animal (typically a dog or cat though this can include other species) that provides a therapeutic benefit. The animal provides emotional support to help mitigate symptoms of a psychiatric disability or other mental impairments. An ESA is not specifically trained to perform tasks for a person who has emotional disabilities. Unlike a service animal, an ESA is not automatically granted access to places of public accommodation.
Psychiatric disabilities require the expertise of one of the following professionals who can diagnose these conditions:
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Psychologists
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Neuropsychologists
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Psychiatrists
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Neuropsychiatrists
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Licensed Professional Counselors /Licensed Social Workers
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Other relevantly trained medical doctors
It is not considered appropriate for professionals to evaluate members of their own family.
Process for Requesting an ESA/Assistance Animal
Please have one of the aforementioned professionals complete the ESA Medical Provider form that supports your request for ESA/Assistance Animal accommodations. Submit the following with your Request for Accommodations form:
Note: Documentation needs to demonstrate that the student is under the care of the mental health professional and that they have a therapeutic relationship. Purchasing documentation from a website or therapist you are not currently being treated by is not sufficient documentation.