Requirements For Category D Documents

CATEGORY D Documentation:

An applicant can provide an individualized evaluation report and recommendation from a medical or psychological professional involved in the applicant’s ongoing treatment, therapy, or assistance programming.

Note: Simply providing evidence of a valid diagnosis is not sufficient.

A. Format.

• Be legible and printed in English
• Signed and dated
• Printed on the professional’s letterhead

B. Qualifications of the evaluator. The evaluator must be a neutral, unbiased professional. The applicant’s supporting documentation should be from a qualified professional who has appropriate training and expertise. Documentation from friends or family members, even if otherwise qualified, will NOT be accepted. The qualified professional’s documentation must be objective. Typically, a qualified evaluator has a Master’s degree or higher in a relevant field, and current licensure or other credentials in an appropriate discipline.

C. Currency. Because the ADA’s requirements apply to a current disability, the documentation must be current, such that it can reasonably reflect the applicant’s current levels of functioning, current limitations, and current access needs.

D. The documentation should demonstrate that the applicant has a disability (not just a diagnosis). Evidence must show that the applicant is substantially limited in one or more major life activities, compared to most people in the general population.

• Major life activities include seeing, hearing, reading, learning, walking, thinking, or major bodily functions. Narrow aspects of learning—such as “math fluency” or “oral reading rate” —are not major life activities. Also, “test taking” is not a major life activity.
• The appropriate reference group for establishing disability is MOST PEOPLE IN THE GENERAL POPULATION—not college seniors, law students, or other high-functioning populations.
• It is important to understand that simply having a valid diagnosis of a condition does not automatically mean that the applicant is disabled.

E. The report and recommendation should demonstrate that the applicant needs accommodations in order to access the test.

• It is important for the applicant and the applicant’s evaluators to remember that, unlike the school setting, accommodations under the ADA are meant to provide access to the test, not to enhance performance, allow someone to “reach their potential,” “do better on the test,” “finish the test,” “pass the test,” or achieve any other specific outcome(s). The ADA is outcome-neutral.
• It is possible that current or previous academic institutions have provided the applicant with accommodations and support services that go above and beyond what the ADA requires in order to help the applicant “reach potential” or otherwise be “successful.” However, the OAA’s obligation is to ensure access to the test.

F. Content Requirements. To ensure that a reasonable accommodation is being provided for a disability as defined by the ADA and to ensure that the accommodation is appropriate for a licensure exam, the report and recommendation must include:

• A discussion of the current functional impacts of the disability—not just on test-taking.
• A discussion of the current functional limitations likely to affect the applicant’s ability to take the OAA exam under standard conditions.
• Specific recommendations for testing accommodations.
• A specific rationale for each requested accommodation. Simply providing a diagnosis is not an appropriate rationale. The rationale must make it clear how the applicant’s requested accommodation(s) will reduce or remove specific barriers on the exam, thus allowing equal access to the exam.
• Evidence that the evaluator reviewed other sources of collateral or corroborating evidence, such as educational plans, transcripts, results of prior evaluations, or employment records, in forming the recommendation for an accommodation. That is, the evaluator’s conclusions and recommendations should be based on a holistic review of other sources of information, not just subjective impressions, subjective self-report checklists, and test scores.
• If objective tests were administered, all scores and test-scores should be provided, using age-based norms unless unavailable. This information is not required if the applicant is also submitting documentation that meets the requirements of Category B.

G. The report should include recommendations that are appropriate for the OAA test and the setting.

The test: The exams administered by the OAA are the standardized two-day bar exam and the standardized one-day LLP exam. This is different than other tasks for which the applicant may have been approved for accommodations. For example, a school may have approved the accommodation of “unlimited time” on a non-standardized test, but these accommodations would not be appropriate for a standardized licensure exam

The setting: The OAA exams are administered on designated days in a controlled setting with proctors.

H. The request should be for a reasonable accommodation. Accommodations will not be provided if they could compromise the security, integrity, or validity of the exam. Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, the OAA is not required to provide any accommodation that poses an undue burden to the OAA, or other applicants being served by the OAA, or that would constitute a fundamental alteration of the exam.