About Alternative Arrangements
Alternative testing arrangements may be requested by:
- an examinee with a disability, and
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According to Rule 6A-4.0021(6)(a)(b), FAC, a person with a disability means any
person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or
more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as
having such an impairment as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section
35,104(1)(2)(3)(4). Examinees requesting alternative testing arrangements must be
certified by a licensed psychologist or physician as having a disability that substantially
limits one or more major life activities. Any documentation presented must describe
the examinee's disability.
Alternative testing arrangements, such as extra time, may be made for examinees
who have visual impairments, hearing impairments, physical disabilities, or specific
learning disabilities. Reasonable accommodations will be provided where possible.
Some alternative testing arrangements may be accommodated at selected sites only.
You will be notified about test site availability when you are contacted to schedule
an appointment.
If your test(s) or evaluation(s) were administered prior to the past 3 years, a
full battery of testing may not be required. Instead, you may wish to consult with
a qualified professional to determine which diagnostic test(s) related to your disability
would indicate the current functional impact of your disability.
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Some types of accommodations, considered “comfort aids,” do not require pre-approval
and can be requested by examinees at the testing site. These accommodations typically
involve allowing medical or health aids into the testing room. Review information about comfort aids
.
For all other alternative testing arrangements requests, you will need to follow
the process outlined below.
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Each step in the process outlined below must be followed for each registration for
which you request alternative arrangements. Failure to complete each step could
delay resolution of your request, which will delay when you are able to take your
test with your requested alternative arrangements.
- Log in to
your FTCE/FELE account and begin the registration process.
When prompted during registration, indicate that you intend to request alternative
testing arrangements by checking the provided box.
If you already began the registration process and did not indicate your intent to
request alternative testing arrangements, you must cancel your registration and
submit a new registration with this indication.
- Submit a completed
Alternative Testing Arrangements Request Form.
Your form must clearly state ALL alternative testing arrangements
you are requesting for the registration. You will not
be approved for an alternative testing arrangement you do not specifically request.
A new request form must be submitted for each registration.
If you need additional assistance, please contact Customer Service
to be connected with an Alternative Arrangements Coordinator.
- Submit all required documentation.
Documentation must be on official letterhead stationery (including physician name,
address, and telephone number), from a medical doctor or licensed psychologist (including
license number). The documentation must:
- describe and attest to your specific disability and how it substantially limits
one or more major life activities.
- contain an interpretation and summary of test data used to document the disability,
dated within the past 3 years.
- be dated within the past 3 years when first presented. FTCE/FELE Customer Service
keeps your documentation on file for 3 years after it is received.
- contain clear recommendations or support for alternative testing arrangements you
are requesting, specifically related to the disability.
If your documentation does not meet all the requirements above, you will be asked
to submit additional documentation before your request can be resolved, which will
delay when you are able to take your test with your requested alternative arrangements.
As an alternative to submitting documentation directly to the FTCE/FELE program, candidates who receive
alternative testing arrangements at a college/university or through Vocational Rehabilitation services may
be eligible to submit an
for select alternative testing arrangements.
If you are retaking an examination for which you requested alternative testing arrangements
during your initial administration OR are requesting the same alternative
testing arrangements previously provided but for a new examination, you may not
need to resubmit your documentation.
- Complete the registration process.
When your request has been received and processed, you will be notified about
the next steps for scheduling your appointment with any approved accommodations.
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Plan to register and submit the
Alternative Testing Arrangements Request Form along with any required documentation
as early as possible. You should allow sufficient time for the review and processing
of your request. You cannot schedule your test appointment until your request has
been resolved.
A general timeframe for each step in the process is provided below:
- You will be notified about a decision approximately 2 weeks after receipt of your
complete request and be provided contact information to schedule your appointment.
- You will select an appointment approximately 1–3 weeks from the date you schedule
and pay for your appointment. Some accommodations have specialized production requirements
and therefore may require more time to implement. Although every effort is made
to process all requests in a timely manner, the earlier you submit your request,
the more time will be available to make arrangements for necessary staff, space,
and specialized materials, if necessary.
Note: Your request form and supporting documentation may be shared with the DOE
in order to process your request.
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You may appeal the denial of some or all of your requests for alternative testing
arrangements. Before you submit your appeal, please review "How do I make a request?"
above for required documentation. If after reviewing the information in this section
you still wish to appeal the decision, you may do so by submitting your appeal,
in writing, to Evaluation Systems.
The appeal should include the following information:
- Your name and address
- The date of the appeal
- Any documentation, in addition to the documentation that you submitted with your
Alternative Testing Arrangements Request Form, that supports your alternative testing
arrangements requests
- A brief summary of the reasons why your alternative testing arrangements requests
should be granted
- Your signature
Your appeal should be submitted within 30 days after you receive notification of
the denial of your requested accommodation(s). Appeals must be resolved before an
appointment can be scheduled. After your appeal is reviewed, you will be notified
as to whether your appeal has been granted or denied. All appeal determinations
are subject to the approval of the Florida Department of Education, and all appeal
determinations are final.