[Arizona-students] FW: Federal Judge Orders the National Conference of Bar Examiners to Provide Individualized Testing Accommodations to Blind Law School Graduate

[Allison (NFBA)]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>
>
> CONTACT:
>
> Chris Danielsen, National Federation of the Blind, (410) 659-9314, ext. 
> 2330
>
> Scott LaBarre, LaBarre Law Offices, P.C., (303) 504-5979
>
> Daniel Goldstein, Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, (410) 962-1030
>
> Anna Levine, Disability Rights Advocates, (510) 665-8644
>
>
>
> Federal Judge Orders the National Conference of Bar Examiners
> to Provide Individualized Testing Accommodations
>
> to Blind Law School Graduate
>
>
>
> San Francisco, California (February 5, 2010):  A federal court has ruled 
> that the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) will cause a blind 
> law school graduate irreparable harm unless it provides her the 
> technology-based testing accommodations she needs to take two exams 
> required to become a member of the State Bar of California.  The court 
> issued its ruling in an order granting the law school graduate's motion 
> for preliminary injunction on Thursday, February 4, 2010.  The court's 
> ruling allows the plaintiff, Stephanie Enyart, to take the February 2010 
> Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) and March 2010 Multistate Professional 
> Responsibility Examination (MPRE) on a laptop computer equipped with the 
> assistive technology software Ms. Enyart relies upon for screen reading 
> (JAWS) and screen magnification (ZoomText).
>
>
>
> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: 
> "The National Federation of the Blind is extremely pleased with the ruling 
> in this case.  Law and equity simply do not permit the NCBE to dictate a 
> one-size-fits-all solution for all bar candidates with disabilities.  We 
> hope that this ruling will cause the NCBE to think long and hard before it 
> denies the requested accommodations of applicants to take its 
> examinations."
>
>
>
> The plaintiff, Stephanie Enyart, said: "A little over a year ago I sent my 
> first request for accommodations on the March 2009 MPRE, and tonight I can 
> go to sleep knowing when and how I can effectively take the exams to 
> fulfill my dreams."
>
>
>
> Anna Levine of Disability Rights Advocates, an attorney representing the 
> plaintiff, said: "I hope that our hard-fought victory here will send a 
> message to testing organizations that they need to comply with the ADA and 
> provide each individual test taker with a disability the accommodations 
> that he or she needs to demonstrate his or her actual knowledge, skills, 
> and abilities."
>
>
>
> The suit was filed on November 3, 2009, due to the NCBE's refusal, on 
> multiple occasions during the past year, to allow Ms. Enyart to use the 
> same technology on the MBE and MPRE that she has used on university and 
> law school exams and in various jobs and internships.  The suit charged 
> that the NCBE violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and 
> California's Unruh Civil Rights Act by denying accommodations on the MBE 
> and the MPRE.
>
>
>
> NCBE had argued that it fulfilled its legal obligations to Ms. Enyart by 
> offering alternative accommodations, such as a human reader, 
> notwithstanding evidence that these alternatives did not, in fact, 
> accommodate Ms. Enyart's disability.  In rejecting NCBE's argument, the 
> court's ruling paves the way for other individuals prevented from pursuing 
> their professional dreams by high stakes testing providers who take a 
> rigid approach to disability accommodations.
>
>
>
> The plaintiff is represented with the support of the National Federation 
> of the Blind by LaBarre Law Offices, P.C., in Denver, Colorado, and by 
> Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, in Baltimore, Maryland.  The plaintiff is 
> further represented by Disability Rights Advocates, a nonprofit law center 
> that specializes in civil rights cases on behalf of persons with 
> disabilities, based in Berkeley, California.
>
>
>
>
>
> ###
>
>
>
> About the National Federation of the Blind
>
>
>
> With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) 
> is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind 
> people in the United States.  The NFB improves blind people's lives 
> through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs 
> encouraging independence and self-confidence.  It is the leading force in 
> the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind.  In January 
> 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan 
> Institute, the first research and training center in the United States for 
> the blind led by the blind.
>
>
>
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