A college entrance exam policy that was meant to help students with disabilities was exploited to enable cheating in an explosive school admission scandal.

At least 50 people - including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin - were charged with cheating on admission tests and bribing coaches in what's being described as the biggest school admissions scandal ever prosecuted by federal authorities.

In the scandal parents had their children 'purport to having learning disabilities' so they could get medical documentation for it and take advantage of the College Board's special accommodations for students with disabilities.

With medical proof, those students could then take their ACT or SAT college entrance exam at one of two special centers that give students with disabilities extra time to complete the test or allow them to take it alone under the supervision of a proctor.

These special centers were also at times controlled by the scam group Edge College & Career Network and this is where the cheating occurred.

The cheaters involved in the massive college admissions scandal that was revealed on Tuesday exploited SAT and ACT testing policies meant to benefit students with learning disabilities

U.S. Attorney for District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling announces indictments in a sweeping college admissions bribery scandal, during a news conference, Tuesday, March 12 where students faked learning disabilities and bribed ACT and SAT test administrators

Full House star Lori Loughlin and Oscar nominee Felicity Huffman are two of the 50 parents charged in a plot to get their children into elite schools (Loughlin with daughters Olivia and Bella in February)

Huffman allegedly paid a $15,000 'charitable contribution' 'to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her eldest daughter' (Huffman and Macy with their daughters Georgia and Sofia at the Golden Globes)

Felicity Huffman (pictured leaving court on Tuesday) has been released on $250,000 bond after she was charged in a massive college admissions bribery scandal

In some cases bribed test administrators provided answers for students or corrected them or had someone else pose as the student to take the test, according to the documents.

The doctored exams were then sent back to the testing organizations for grading.

Clients paid $15,000 to $75,000 per test, according to the documents, 'with the payments typically structured as purported donations' to a charity run by a cooperating witness.

Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman paid $15,000 in a 'charitably contribution' to have someone change the answers on her eldest daughter's SAT exam.

In this case, Huffman's daughter took the test in a testing site that was not her own high school and scored a 1420, which was a 400 point improvement from her PSAT results just one year prior.

The court papers also include a conversation between one of the defendants in the case, Gordon Caplan, and the witness that was obtained through a wiretap.

'Caplan: And it works?

CW-1: Every time (laughing).'

The College Board said it has seen an increase in disabilities accommodations request in recent years as more students have opted to take its exams.

The Board now defending the integrity of their testing process.

'The College Board has a comprehensive, robust approach to combat cheating, and we work closely with law enforcement as part of those efforts. We will always take all necessary steps to ensure a level playing field for the overwhelming majority of test takers who are honest and play by the rules,' the nonprofit said in a statement.

The court documents revealed how some wealthy families exploited the rite-of-passage exam that most high schoolers endure in order to apply for college admission.

William 'Rick' Singer founder of the Edge College & Career Network, departs federal court in Boston on Tuesday, March 12, 2019, after he pleaded guilty to charges in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal

Gregory Abbott, founder and chairman of International Dispensing Corporation, was among dozens of people who were charged for their role in the cheating scheme on Tuesday

A private school director in Los Angeles and a public high school teacher in Houston have been charged with racketeering conspiracy for their role as paid standardized test administrators for both The College Board and ACT Inc.

Officials with the ACT said it contracts with thousands of people to administer its college entrance exam around the country and slammed 'the few bad actors who have attempted to undermine a fair testing environment.' ACT also urged people to report suspected cheating through its security hotline.

'We appreciate the efforts of the authorities and the attention that they have brought to the importance of fairness in testing,' ACT said in a statement.

The typical testing experience has students taking the fee-based exam at their high school or a nearby school test site in their community. It's most often done in a group setting, a timed environment and monitored by familiar school staff, such as teachers and counselors contracted by ACT and SAT officials, experts said.

Students arrive on the date with photo identification, which is matched to their preregistration information and the photo they send to the ACT and SAT administrators validating who they are.

Texas men's tennis coach Michael Center, was also charged in a scheme that involved wealthy parents bribing college coaches and others to gain admissions for their children at top schools, federal prosecutors said Tuesday

Gordon Caplan of Greenwich, Conn., walks out of federal court Tuesday, March 12, 2019, in New York. Caplan, who is co-chairman of the international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, was accused of paying $75,000 to get a test supervisor to correct the answers on his daughter's ACT exam after she took it

Students with disabilities who receive school accommodations and are served by the federal Individualized Education Program can apply directly to the ACT and SAT for similar accommodations, which may include testing documents in Braille for blindness, a text reader for dyslexia, snack breaks for diabetes, and extended time or one-on-one testing for attention deficit disorders.

The College Board said it has dedicated staff to consider such requests and may request documentation to vet it.

Rachel Rubin, co-founder of Spark Admissions near Boston, said it's common for families to get psychiatric evaluations for their children so that they can get extra time for the SAT or ACT or take it over multiple days or in a quiet room. She said such exams usually aren't covered by insurance and can cost thousands of dollars, yet another way the wealthy can get a leg up over the less fortunate.

Jayne Fonash, a recently retired high school counselor in Virginia and the president-elect of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, said in her two decades of working with students to take college exams, it was extremely rare for a disability request to be denied.

Fonash said she served as a test administrator for many years with both test makers. She said she was paid about $100 to supervise a testing room or about $400 to manage an entire test site.

'They're not doing it for the money. They're doing it so students have access to this testing opportunity,' Fonash said of the educators who run the tests so that their students can take the test in a place they are familiar with and comfortable.

'It goes to show the length that some parents and some professionals go to manipulate the process,' Fonash added.