Service animals are different from emotional support animals. Learn more about the differences HERE.
Laws and Policies:
Taking a Service Animal to School from the ADA National Network.
ADA Requirements: Service Animals webpage from US Department of Justice
Table of State Service Animal Laws from Michigan State University
Service Animals in School: What Families Need to Know, a resource document from PEATC.
Federal Air Access Carrier Act
Virginia Fair Housing Act Definitions, including Assistance Animal
Research:
How can a service dog benefit my child in the school environment?
A service dog can make a huge difference for a child in a school environment. Burgoyne et al. (2014) in Parents’ Perspectives on the Value of Assistance Dogs for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cross-sectional Study reported, “Parents/guardians of children who have ASD and an assistance dog rate their child as significantly safer from environmental dangers, perceive that the public act more respectfully and responsibly towards their child and feel more competent about managing their child compared with parents on the waiting list”
Meixner and Kotrschal (2022) in Animal-Assisted Interventions With Dogs in Special Education—A Systematic Review reported, “Overall, the studies report mixed results in the different functional domains of stress reduction, motivation, social skills, cognitive abilities, reading abilities, social conduct, and mental wellbeing. No study reported any negative effects of the intervention. The most unequivocal evidence comes from studies on dogs’ effects on physiological stress response in challenging situations and on motivation and adherence to instructions, reporting significantly lower levels of cortisol in both children and pedagogues in the presence of dogs, as well as increased motivation to learn and participate. Findings for other outcomes, academic or social, however, remain inconclusive.”
Resources:
Organizations:
Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities
Virginia Service Dog Organizations for Children/Youth: