The North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services (NORTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF EMS) may offer applicants with documented disabilities reasonable and appropriate accommodations for state EMS credentialing examinations. This document will address applicant information, establishing eligibility for accommodation, general requirements for requesting examination accommodation and documentation required to request examination accommodations.  

Applicants receiving accommodation during their EMS educational program must understand that accommodations provided by educational institutions and the accommodations allowed for the state EMS credentialing examinations are separate processes. NORTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF EMS recognizes that each applicant’s circumstances are unique and the request for examination accommodation is provided on a case-by-case basis, which will be determined by the submitted documentation confirming and describing the disability.  

NORTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF EMS will offer reasonable accommodation on the state EMS credentialing examination for those persons with documented disabilities. Based upon an analysis of the functional job description and the written examination, it has been determined that persons with documented learning disabilities manifested in the academic areas of reading, decoding or reading comprehension may be eligible for special examination accommodation.  

Applicants shall not schedule an examination until an official determination has been made by the NORTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF EMS. This will allow the NORTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF EMS a minimum of fifteen (15) days to review and determine the accommodation to be offered. NORTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF EMS is required to notify Meazure Learning with the approved accommodations a minimum of fifteen (15) days prior to the intended date of the examination. This is to ensure the preferred examination site can/may provide all the applicants with requested accommodations. Any applicant submitting the application less than thirty (30) days prior to the intended examination date shall not receive their requested accommodation.  

The application for examination accommodations may be requested by the applicant by emailing oemseducation@dhhs.nc.gov. Incomplete applications will not be considered for accommodation and will not be returned to the applicant for correction/revision. Failure to complete the application in its entirety and submit it to NORTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF EMS will delay the agency’s ability to determine whether to grant accommodation. Applicants must submit documentation on official letterhead, typed, dated, and signed. The name, title, and professional credential of the qualified professional with expertise in the diagnosed disability must be clearly stated in the documentation and must include:  

1. Recognized diagnosis found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) 
2. Identification of the specific standardized and professionally recognized test-assessments given (e.g., Woodcock-Johnson, Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale) 
3. The scores resulting from testing and interpretation of the scores and evaluations. 
4. Recommendations for testing accommodations with a stated rationale as to why the requested accommodation is necessary and appropriate for the diagnosed disability. 

The submitted documentation shall be completed within the last thirty-six (36) months to be considered valid. Any documentation completed more than thirty-six (36) months prior to submission of application shall be accompanied by a re-evaluation completed within the last thirty-six (36) months.  

The NORTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF EMS reserves the right to request additional information at any time from the applicant requesting accommodations for the state EMS credentialing examination.