Policy committee adds miniature horses to service‑animal policy language

The Upper Dublin School District policy committee reviewed updates to Policy 7.18, "Service Animals in Schools," which were revised to align with the PSBA model and federal guidance to include miniature horses as permissible service animals.

Staff said the policy number was updated from 7.11 to 7.18 to match PSBA model policy and that new administrative regulations (AR) were drafted to clarify permissible questions district employees may ask about service animals.

Committee members discussed wording issues around definitions. One member noted a draft sentence in 3.5.1 that referred to miniature horses as "pets" and suggested using language consistent with service‑animal terminology. "In 3.5.1, we refer to them as pets as opposed to service animals," a member said. Another committee member flagged an apparent definitional circularity: section 2.1 defines service animals as dogs, while section 2.2 then says miniature horses may be utilized as service animals. Staff said those provisions reflect legal definitions the district must follow. "This is all we are legally required [to include]," a staff member said, noting the change stems from ADA guidance that includes miniature horses.

The committee moved the revised policy forward; staff will continue to clean up wording to avoid casual or inconsistent references (for example, replacing "pets" with "service animals" where appropriate) and will circulate the draft administrative regulations for further input.

No vote to adopt the policy occurred at the meeting; the committee indicated the district has limited latitude on required ADA‑derived language but will refine internal wording for clarity.