Student Accessibility Services

An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is an animal that provides therapeutic emotional support, well-being, or companionship which alleviates or mitigates symptoms of a student’s disability. An ESA is recommended in or part of a student’s treatment plan, or it is known to mitigate the symptoms of a disability as confirmed by a licensed healthcare provider. An ESA is not a service dog or a pet. An ESA can be any common household animal as defined by the HUD guidelines (2020) (External Site). The animal must demonstrate a good temperament and reliable, predictable behavior. Generally, the presence of only one ESA will be approved for a student in order to fulfill the intent of the Fair Housing Act requirements in providing support to the student with a mental health disability. This policy applies solely to the specific requirements applicable to an individual’s use of an ESA in University housing. With the exception of Service Animals, UMS (University of Maine System) housing policies generally prohibit animals of any type in campus housing; however, an individual with a mental health disability may request an ESA through the UMS Student Accessibility/Disability Office on their campus as a reasonable accommodation.

No ESA may be kept in University housing at any time prior to the individual receiving approval as a reasonable accommodation pursuant to this policy. A request must be initiated by the student registering for disability accommodations with Student Accessibility Services.