We are periodically asked to provide support and documentation for students/residents who are wanting to get an Emotional Support Animal (ESA), or to justify public transportation travel (e.g., air travel) with ESA, ESA living arrangements/housing exceptions, or no pet deposit housing circumstance.

Counseling & Educational Support Services (CESS) and Student Health Services (SHS) staff do not provide letters of support or referrals for students/residents seeking documentation for an ESA. It is recommended that professionals providing this documentation have received training and gained experience working with the human-animal bond in counseling.

At CESS and SHS, we do not currently have the training or experience to provide documentation for an ESA. We recommend that students/residents interested in obtaining a letter of support should seek a disability evaluation from a prior medical or mental health provider or by starting a disability assessment process through local community resources with the recommended training and experience providing ESAs.

Please note: We discourage the use of online resources that promise ESA support letters for a fee. When viewing these sources, we caution students/residents because the resource may be fraudulent.

Questions?

For more information regarding this policy, contact Larry Long, Ph.D., Assistant Vice Chancellor, at llong@kumc.edu or 913-588-6580.