[blindlaw] Request for laptop during essay section denied

Rod Alcidonis roddj12 at hotmail.com
Sat Jun 13 01:38:59 UTC 2009


Angie:



That's upsetting, and  very upsetting. This is a common accommodation 
granted in many many states, including New York, Pennsylvania, etc. 
Pennsylvania granted this accommodation to me without any fights or 
anything. Once the director of the board knew I was blind, he told me that 
this is how all blind takers take their exams, and that this was standard 
for his office. I cannot imagine having to dictate to someone to write for 
you. The thought processes will be lost in the dictation.



New Jersey is almost trying to do the same thing to me and I am gearing up 
for a long, and hard fight. It's not even my first State; it is my second 
State because it borders with Pennsylvania and there are job prospects there 
for me. They are asking for me to use a reader for the essay portion. I told 
them I have never taken not even a high-school exams in this manner, and I 
will not do it for the bar exam. She told me that she was going to talk more 
with the bar examiners and would get back to me; I am still waiting. I had a 
friendly exchange with her which will certainly escalate should it does not 
go my way! I have taken and won these fights, and I am confident I will take 
them on hard, and I will fight till the end. This is a shame.



If I were you, I would write a letter requesting unlimited (or significantly 
more) time so that you have time to go back and adequately make sure that 
your answers read as you want them to. Otherwise, take legal action. This is 
very and very upsetting. I am writing this as angry as one could be. It is 
just sad that these decisions are being made by "bar examiners."



 As an alternative, I would advise that you immediately place another, 
detailed letter in the record, once again documenting your request should 
anything happen GFB. I would note on the letter that you are taking the exam 
under protest, and list the reasons.



The sighted folks can use their laptop out of preference, but for you, they 
have to provide it as an accommodation. They don't require anyone who is 
unable to hand-write to use a court reporter.



Take care, Angie. try not to let this interfere with your preparation as 
much.



Rod Alcidonis, J.D.
C. 718-704-4651
roddj12 at hotmail.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Angie Matney" <angie.matney at gmail.com>
To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 7:53 PM
Subject: [blindlaw] Request for laptop during essay section denied


> Hello,
>
>
>
> I asked for and was granted a Braille MBE and a Braille version of the 
> ssay
> questions. My request to write my answers to the essays was denied. I am
> supposed to dictate them to a court reporter. The documentation I received
> from the VA bar examiners is unclear as to whether or not I will first be
> able to prepare my answers in Braille and then dictate them (it 
> specifically
> says I can do this for the MBE, but not the essays), or whether I have to
> simply dictate my answers. I have serious concerns about my ability to
> perform effectively on the exam if it is the latter. I have never taken an
> essay test via dictation--I mentioned this in my accommodations request. I
> explained why the process was different for the MBE and the essay portion 
> of
> the bar, but apparently my explanation was not sufficient, not understood,
> or not accepted.
>
>
>
> Has anyone been granted the option to use a laptop during the 
> state-specific
> portion of the Bar exam? It is my understanding that this is fairly 
> common.
>
>
>
> Virginia does have a program whereby any person taking the exam can 
> register
> to take it via laptop, but I have concerns about the accessibility of the
> software they use, which disables all but some basic word-processing
> functions of the computer. The software is called Exam4, and the maker is
> Extegrity. Has anyone had experience with this software and a screen 
> reader?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Angie
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


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