PSI Special Education & Accommodations 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The term 'undue hardship' under the ADA refers to an accommodation that would cause:
- Minor inconvenience to the instructor
- Significant difficulty or expense relative to the organization's resources (Correct answer)
- Any change to standard curriculum
- Discomfort among other students
Correct answer: Significant difficulty or expense relative to the organization's resources
Undue hardship under the ADA is defined as an action requiring significant difficulty or expense, evaluated relative to the size and financial resources of the organization.
Question 2: A public safety trainee with dyslexia requests that written exams be read aloud by a proctor. This accommodation primarily addresses which type of barrier?
- Physical access
- Communication access (Correct answer)
- Attitudinal bias
- Policy barrier
Correct answer: Communication access
Reading an exam aloud removes a communication barrier created by a written format that disadvantages individuals with reading-based disabilities.
Question 3: Which assistive technology accommodation would MOST benefit a blind trainee studying written public safety procedures?
- Large-print materials
- Screen reader software with digital text files (Correct answer)
- Highlighted hard-copy handouts
- Magnification glasses
Correct answer: Screen reader software with digital text files
Screen reader software with digital text enables a totally blind trainee to access text content independently, unlike large print or magnification which require some residual vision.
Question 4: During a high-stress scenario drill, a trainee with PTSD experiences significant distress. The most appropriate instructor response is to:
- Continue the drill to build resilience
- Pause the trainee's participation and privately discuss options for accommodation or rescheduling (Correct answer)
- Permanently exempt the trainee from all scenario drills
- Document the incident and take no further action
Correct answer: Pause the trainee's participation and privately discuss options for accommodation or rescheduling
The instructor should pause and privately address the situation, which opens the interactive accommodation process while treating the trainee with dignity.
Question 5: When developing a testing accommodation plan, the accommodation should be tied to:
- The trainee's personal preference only
- The functional limitation caused by the disability (Correct answer)
- The instructor's workload capacity
- Peer approval within the cohort
Correct answer: The functional limitation caused by the disability
Accommodations must be linked to the specific functional limitation the disability creates, ensuring the modification is appropriate and legally defensible.
Question 6: A trainee with low vision needs to view projected slides during instruction. Which accommodation is MOST appropriate?
- Verbally summarizing slides only
- Providing printed or digital copies of all slide content in advance (Correct answer)
- Seating the trainee at the front without any materials
- Projecting slides on a white board instead of screen
Correct answer: Providing printed or digital copies of all slide content in advance
Providing advance copies of slide content in accessible formats ensures the trainee can fully access instructional material independently.
Question 7: An instructor is required to keep accommodation information about a trainee:
- Accessible to all instructors for transparency
- Confidential and separate from general training records (Correct answer)
- Posted in the training room for peer awareness
- Shared with trainees who might be affected by the accommodation
Correct answer: Confidential and separate from general training records
ADA and FERPA-related privacy rules require that disability and accommodation information be kept confidential and stored separately from general personnel or training records.
PSI Special Education & Accommodations 3
The term 'undue hardship' under the ADA refers to an accommodation that would cause: