diff --git a/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/common/utils.py b/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/common/utils.py
index 78a899aa50..dcc53fda9a 100644
--- a/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/common/utils.py
+++ b/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/common/utils.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2020-2022, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+# Copyright (c) 2020-2023, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
diff --git a/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/__init__.py b/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..764e0f32fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2020-2023, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
diff --git a/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/conftest.py b/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/conftest.py
index 39ee21cbaa..d1baa684d4 100644
--- a/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/conftest.py
+++ b/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/conftest.py
@@ -1,54 +1,71 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2022, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
+# Copyright (c) 2022-2023, NVIDIA CORPORATION.
 
 import os
 
 import pytest
 
 from dask.distributed import Client
-from dask_cuda import LocalCUDACluster, initialize
+from dask_cuda import LocalCUDACluster
 
 os.environ["UCX_LOG_LEVEL"] = "error"
 
 
-enable_tcp_over_ucx = True
-enable_nvlink = False
-enable_infiniband = False
-
-
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session")
 def cluster():
-    cluster = LocalCUDACluster(protocol="tcp", scheduler_port=0)
-    yield cluster
-    cluster.close()
+    scheduler_file = os.environ.get("SCHEDULER_FILE")
+    if scheduler_file:
+        yield scheduler_file
+    else:
+        cluster = LocalCUDACluster(protocol="tcp", scheduler_port=0)
+        yield cluster
+        cluster.close()
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session")
 def ucx_cluster():
-    initialize.initialize(
-        create_cuda_context=True,
-        enable_tcp_over_ucx=enable_tcp_over_ucx,
-        enable_nvlink=enable_nvlink,
-        enable_infiniband=enable_infiniband,
-    )
-    cluster = LocalCUDACluster(
-        protocol="ucx",
-        enable_tcp_over_ucx=enable_tcp_over_ucx,
-        enable_nvlink=enable_nvlink,
-        enable_infiniband=enable_infiniband,
-    )
-    yield cluster
-    cluster.close()
+    scheduler_file = os.environ.get("SCHEDULER_FILE")
+    if scheduler_file:
+        yield scheduler_file
+    else:
+        cluster = LocalCUDACluster(
+            protocol="ucx",
+        )
+        yield cluster
+        cluster.close()
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session")
 def client(cluster):
-    client = Client(cluster)
+    client = create_client(cluster)
     yield client
     client.close()
 
 
 @pytest.fixture()
 def ucx_client(ucx_cluster):
-    client = Client(cluster)
+    client = create_client(ucx_cluster)
     yield client
     client.close()
+
+
+def create_client(cluster):
+    """
+    Create a Dask distributed client for a specified cluster.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    cluster : LocalCUDACluster instance or str
+        If a LocalCUDACluster instance is provided, a client will be created
+        for it directly. If a string is provided, it should specify the path to
+        a Dask scheduler file. A client will then be created for the cluster
+        referenced by this scheduler file.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    dask.distributed.Client
+        A client connected to the specified cluster.
+    """
+    if isinstance(cluster, LocalCUDACluster):
+        return Client(cluster)
+    else:
+        return Client(scheduler_file=cluster)
diff --git a/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/test_comms.py b/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/test_comms.py
index 3a430f9270..5c69a94fd8 100644
--- a/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/test_comms.py
+++ b/python/raft-dask/raft_dask/test/test_comms.py
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@
 
 import pytest
 
-from dask.distributed import Client, get_worker, wait
+from dask.distributed import get_worker, wait
+
+from .conftest import create_client
 
 try:
     from raft_dask.common import (
@@ -43,9 +45,7 @@
 
 
 def test_comms_init_no_p2p(cluster):
-
-    client = Client(cluster)
-
+    client = create_client(cluster)
     try:
         cb = Comms(verbose=True)
         cb.init()
@@ -121,8 +121,7 @@ def func_check_uid_on_worker(sessionId, uniqueId, dask_worker=None):
 
 
 def test_handles(cluster):
-
-    client = Client(cluster)
+    client = create_client(cluster)
 
     def _has_handle(sessionId):
         return local_handle(sessionId, dask_worker=get_worker()) is not None