N.J. Admin. Code § 5:73-15.5

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 5:73-15.5 - Learning disabilities accommodations

(a) Accommodations for persons with documented learning disabilities will be established for written examinations as follows:

1. The Office of Training and Certification within the Division of Fire Safety and eligible institutions or organizations approved through this chapter shall offer reasonable and appropriate accommodations for those persons with learning disabilities in reading decoding, reading comprehension, and/or written expression.

2. A person requesting accommodations for written examinations shall make the request to the instructor of the training program, at least 30 calendar days prior to the examination date.

3. Documentation of the learning disability shall include one of the following:

i. A diagnosis based upon the results of a standardized psycho-educational assessment, including an individually administered standardized measure of intelligence and an individually administered standardized measure of achievement in reading decoding, reading comprehension, and/or written expression; or

ii. A diagnosis made by a qualified professional, according to the criteria outlined in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DMS-5) (5th Edition), incorporated herein by reference, as amended and supplemented by the American Psychiatric Association. This manual may be obtained by contacting the American Psychiatric Association, Suite 1825, 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209 or at www.psychiatry.org.

(b) All diagnosis shall have been made within five years of the date of the written examination.

(c) A person who qualifies for accommodations, as reviewed and determined by the training program staff, shall be permitted a total of three hours to complete a 100-question exam, one and one-half hours for a 50-question exam, and 45 minutes for a 25-question exam. Variations of these written examinations that use different quantities of examination questions shall be adjusted at the discretion of the instructor to reflect a comparable accommodation.

(d) A person who qualifies for accommodations, as reviewed and determined by the training program staff, shall be permitted to receive the written examination by oral delivery from the training program staff. Oral examinations shall be delivered using the ratio of 1:1 (one instructor to one student).

(e) A maximum of three attempts per examination title shall be provided for a student to pass written examinations. A minimum passing score shall be 70 percent correct.

(f) All attempts to successfully pass written examinations shall be completed by the student according to the eligible training organization's policies and course completion timeline requirements.

N.J. Admin. Code § 5:73-15.5

Adopted by 50 N.J.R. 775(a), effective 2/5/2018