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DigiPen Institute of Technology is committed to providing equal access to all of its programs, courses, activities, events, and services. As required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the “ADA”) as amended, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112) as amended (P.L. 93-16), DigiPen will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified students with disabilities, including housing accommodations.

DigiPen recognizes that students with disabilities may require certain housing accommodations in order to fully participate in the residential component of the experiences. No pets of any kind are allowed in student housing or anywhere on campus according to DigiPen’s policy. However, people with disability who wish to bring their service and emotional support animals in student housing are allowed to do so by taking the steps described below.

Your request for accommodations will be considered incomplete and will not move forward without fully completing these steps.

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Deadlines

You must complete the housing accommodation request process, including scheduling and attending a meeting with the DSS Office, by the housing application deadline. While requests submitted after the deadline will be considered, DigiPen cannot guarantee that it will be able to meet the accommodation needs of late requests within the requested housing session.

For inquiries or clarification about these steps and/or requesting accommodations to complete the procedure, please contact the DSS Office at DSS@digipen.edu or (425) 629-5015.

Required Steps to Request Housing Accommodations

Step 1: Complete the housing application process

Complete your housing application, pay the security deposit, and finish enrolling as an incoming student.

Step 2: Submit the Housing Accommodation Information Form

Fill out and submit the Housing Accommodation Information form. If you need assistance filling out the form, please contact the DSS Office.

Step 3: Obtain medical documentation to support your housing accommodation requests

To request housing accommodations based on your disability, you must provide current documentation from a qualified professional who is currently treating you, such as a physician, clinical psychologist, or psychiatrist. You must furnish documentation sufficient for the DSS Office to make its determinations. This may involve acquiring additional, or more up-to-date, documentation.

Completing the Disability Verification Form for Housing Accommodation Request is strongly recommended as it will complete information to the DSS Office.

Documentation from a qualified professional must indicate that you meet the necessary criteria for the diagnosis of a physical or psychological impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, as defined by the ADA. In addition, documentation must include all information needed to demonstrate the existence of your disability and the necessity of the specific housing accommodations requested. The documentation must establish your eligibility for housing accommodation(s) and include, at a minimum:

  • Date of the evaluation and treatment history;
  • Description of the disability and severity level;
  • Test results used to reach diagnosis;
  • Explanations describing how the disability has substantially limited certain major life activities;
  • Current impact of the disability in the residential setting;
  • Past use and effectiveness of any housing accommodations in the residential setting;
  • Recommendations for specific housing accommodations that are logically related to a treatment plan and the impact described;
  • Key points from discussion regarding pros and cons of living in campus housing; and
  • Signature, credentials, and contact information of the evaluator.

If the submitted documentation is incomplete or does not support your request for housing accommodation(s), the DSS Office may ask you to provide additional information.

Please contact the DSS office if you need assistance filling out the form.

Please be aware that IEP (Individualized Education Program) and 504 (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act) plans from a school district will not be sufficient for housing accommodation requests.

Students who do not have documentation — or are unsure of the documentation needed — are encouraged to contact the DSS staff to explore options for support.

The DSS Office cannot process housing accommodation requests without documentation that satisfies the guidelines and fully supports the housing accommodations requested.

Step 4: Submit your medical documentation

If you are new to the DSS Office, create your housing profile using the Accessible Information Management System and securely upload your medical documentation.

If you already have a user profile, access your profile and upload new medical documents using the “Additional Document Upload” function on your dashboard.

Step 5: Meet with the DSS Office

The link to schedule an appointment will be emailed to you after submitting the housing accommodation application.

Service Animals

Beginning March 15, 2011, service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.

Additional procedures to have a service animal live in DigiPen Housing

  1. Complete steps 2, 3, and 4 for requesting housing accommodations.
  2. Obtain verifications of:
  3. Submit both veterinary report and animal license to the DSS Office.

Final approval for an animal to come into residence is given by DigiPen Housing LLC after all steps are completed.

After the completion of these steps, DigiPen Housing LLC will review the housing assignment for needs related to space and accommodating an animal.

Emotional Support Animals

Emotional support animals (“ESA”) are not “service animals” under the ADA. They are animals that provide comfort just by being with a person. Unlike service animals, emotional support animals are not trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Emotional support animals are animals that provide passive service that relieves an impact of a person’s disability. They may be other species of animals than dogs. Emotional support animals can be requested as a housing accommodation and approved by the DSS Office and DigiPen Housing LLC.

You will need documentation from an appropriate professional that:

  • Identifies students and states their disability/health condition.
  • Shares the relevant history of the proposed ESA’s effectiveness as a form of treatment for the disability.
  • States the need for the proposed ESA as a part of the student’s current healthcare/treatment plan.
  • Explains how the proposed ESA helps alleviate the impact of the identified disability/health condition.
  • Establish the long-term relationship with the proposed ESA that has broad and diffuse impact that reduces the overall level of symptoms.
  • Provides some examples of the proposed ESA’s effectiveness.
  • Identifies the basis for providing passive support (e.g., the ongoing relationship with the animal) or use as a defined role in the student’s treatment plan and states that it is necessary for full participation in or to benefit from particular programs or environments.

For more information on the necessary information for document to support ESA housing accommodation, please read the “ESA Information Form.”

Additional procedures to have an ESA live in DigiPen Housing with you

  1. Complete all steps for requesting housing accommodations.
  2. Obtain verifications of:
  3. Submit both veterinary report and animal license to the DSS Office.

After the completion of these steps, DigiPen Housing LLC will review the housing assignment for needs related to space and accommodating an animal.

Final approval for the proposed ESA to come into residence is given by DigiPen Housing LLC after all steps are completed.

Animal Care Expectation and Conduct

Students are fully responsible for their animals’ behaviors. Service and emotional support animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices. In such a case, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls. Animals are required to be housebroken and under their owners’ control at all the times. In addition, the animals’ behaviors are considered their owners’ behaviors. DigiPen Housing LLC may require students to remove their animals from the environment if the animal is sick, unclean, or malodorous; its behavior is disruptive, e.g., barking, growling, running around, displaying aggressive behavior; the owner/partner fails to clean up after their animal; and/or does not meet all applicable city/county/college ordinances or requirements.

Please contact DSS Office or DigiPen Housing LLC with your questions.

DSS Office - DigiPen Institute of Technology

DigiPen Housing LLC - DigiPen Institute of Technology