<p>To those of you who have suggested that the OP go to her school disabilities office for help, read her first post: it’s the disabilities office that’s imposing the restriction!</p>
<p>Keep in mind, too, that she is not being charged “extra.” She is being charged the price of a single studio, which is higher than what she pays now. If all students in studios are being charged the same amount, she can’t argue she’s being charged extra for having the dog.</p>
<p>Look, I’m not trying to argue that the university is right, but that policy has to be set that covers many contingencies, not just this one particular situation. This poster and her request seem perfectly reasonable, but what has come before or what situations is the university aware of that they need to avoid?</p>
<p>My mother is legally blind with a service dog, at times hotels have tried to charge her extra for having to accommodate the dog, she’s raised hell because it is ILLEGAL.</p>
<p>If they need to move you into a different more expensive housing option because that is what works best for their needs, that is fine. But from everything I’ve understood over the years they absolutely cannot make you foot the bill for that decision. </p>
<p>I’d contact the organization that you received the service animal from. The guide program my mom got her dog from has been invaluable in helping her when problems like this have arisen. They are up to date on the laws and give her advice on what’s legal and what isn’t and how to handle situations like this.</p>
<p>A quick update for anyone who cares:</p>
<p>I got in touch with the student government at here at Stanford, who is now taking a strong interest in the university’s policies on disabilities. They will be meeting high-level university administrators with me next week. </p>
<p>I have also consulted a lawyer about whether it is legal for Stanford to force me into a more expensive apartment to keep a service animal. He was so surprised by Stanford’s stance that he asked me to double-check that the people “in charge” aren’t on vacation and being replaced by guys who don’t know what they are doing, because he couldn’t believe that Stanford would so openly discriminate against students with disabilities. He thinks that I would have a strong case in court but he encourages me to pursue other options first. If push came to shove, he suggested that I could bypass the courts and go directly to the press: faster, cheaper and more effective. </p>
<p>Maybe I’ll get my mugshot into the New York Times after all :D</p>
<p>Thanks for the update, and good to hear people are taking interest in your case.</p>
I know this thread is old, but I saw a disturbing comment, which is that a restaurant can segregate a service dog team to a private dining room. No they certainly cannot. The ADA makes it very clear what is considered to be disturbing to patrons, and nearly being present does not count as a disturbance. I think in this case, it would be argued that the service dog is not altering the fundamental nature of the program, and therefore must be allowed. They cannot make you move, and I would not listen to the people who say that the university has so many other people to consider. Guess what, people with disabilities hear that all the time. Everyone else comes first. There needs come last. They are a burden anyways so anything they get is just a charitable service whereas anything someone without a disability get s is a fundamental right or entitlement. If they can successfully argue that leaving you where you are would alter their housing program, they must still accommodate you at the same price. They cannot charge you more because you have a service dog, and making you move because you have a service dog and then charging you more would count. I would agree however that having someone room with a service dog handler can be very problematic. Many college students are very immature and treat service dogs inappropriately. Dorm rooms are very small, so having two people and a service dog in one of them can be problematic. What colleges have done in that case is put the service dog team in their own room, but charged the price for the shared accommodation they would have been able to access if they were not a service dog handler. This is also what is done for somebody who has mobility equipment that takes up a lot of room. How ever, in your case, that would not be an issue because you are living in a two bedroom apartment. I know this issue is already resolved and I’m curious about how it turned out, but do not believe they would be able to force you to move.
Please use old threads for informational purposes only. do not resurrect old threads.
closing thread