Information Center

Special Accommodations

Special Accommodations

Requesting a testing accommodation

Public Safety Testing complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and is committed to providing reasonable and appropriate accommodations for Candidates with documented physical or mental impairments that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities.

Accommodations may also be approved for Candidates with documented qualifying medical conditions that may be temporary or are not otherwise covered by the ADA, including those that require the use of medical devices or medication during the examination.

An individual is not substantially limited in a major life activity if the limitation does not amount to a significant restriction when compared with the abilities of the average person. Non-specific diagnoses such as individual learning styles, learning differences, academic problems, computer phobias, slow reading, and test difficulty or anxiety in and of themselves do not constitute a disability or impairment.

The decision as to whether a medical condition that is not covered by the ADA is a “qualifying medical condition” for purposes of taking a PST exam is at the sole discretion of PST and the test developer.

Documentation must include:

  • Most recent written documentation that clearly identifies the type and scope of the candidate’s impairment, learning disability or related deficiency that requires a special accommodation related to written testing.

  • This documentation must come from a licensed psychologist, educational therapist, educational counselor, or other reputable source as determined during the evaluation of this request.

Accommodations are provided on an individual basis and depend on the nature of the disability or medical condition and documentation provided. PST will make reasonable efforts to provide the requested accommodations to Candidates provided the functional impairment has been demonstrated through documentation, the accommodations do not fundamentally alter the measurement of the skills or knowledge the examination is intended to test, do not jeopardize test integrity and security and do not result in an undue burden to PST.

All requests for special accommodations are strictly confidential and documentation submitted in support of the request is used solely for the purpose of evaluating the request. Failure to provide PST with the appropriate supporting documentation in a timely manner will cause a delay in the review process and your ability to schedule and take the examination. Agencies to which you apply may see that a special accommodation was requested on the written and/or physical testing, however the supporting documentation and nature of the accommodation is confidential to PST and the test developer.

Examples of potentially qualifying requests:

  • Learning Disability (Dyslexia, ADD/ADHD, etc)

A request for Special Accommodation IS NOT:

  • A request to take the exam through Remote Testing

  • Requests for being Active-Duty military or Veteran’s Preference

Most special accommodations may only be administered in our office in Lynnwood due to the facility requirements for these types of exams. Other testing locations may only be approved on a case-by-case basis. Virtual, in-home testing is not available for approved special accomodation requests. Testing must be conducted in-person at a PST test site or pre-approved remote testing center.