Testing and academic accommodations

Where accommodations come from

• Standardized and licensing exams. Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires organizations that offer exams for admission, licensing or certification to offer them accessibly, including appropriate accommodations (42 U.S.C. § 12189; 28 C.F.R. § 36.309).
• K–12 schools. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act govern 504 plans and IEPs.
• Colleges and graduate schools. The ADA and Section 504 require reasonable accommodations through each school's disability services office.

Who decides each request

• SAT, PSAT and AP: College Board Services for Students with Disabilities
• ACT: ACT accommodations
• LSAT: Law School Admission Council
• MCAT: Association of American Medical Colleges
• GRE: ETS Office of Disability Services
• GMAT: Graduate Management Admission Council
• Bar exams: each state's board of law examiners

Each agency publishes its own documentation guidelines and processing times. Requests are strongest when the evaluation, history and requested accommodation line up with those guidelines, and weakest when they are filed late or rest on a diagnosis alone.