[blindlaw] Accessibility of bar exams and bar review courses

[Angie Matney]

I forgot to add that I received the Bar/Bri course on an iPod Nano with 
speech enabled. The Kaplan course lectures came on CDs or DVDs.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elizabeth Rene" <emrene at earthlink.net>
To: <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 12, 2013 9:55 PM
Subject: [blindlaw] Accessibility of bar exams and bar review courses


> Hi all,
>
> Many of us have recently taken bar examinations, and most likely have used 
> bar review courses to prepare for them.  We've all cheered for those 
> who've passed, and we all remember the struggles of those who've had to 
> litigate to get reasonable accommodations from the NCBE.
>
> I was so pumped up after my February exam (the first in Washington given 
> in Braille) that I looked into taking another state's exam just to enhance 
> my credentials.
>
> I learned through  the Internet that almost every state requires the 
> Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), the Multistate 
> Performance Test (MPT), and the Multistate Professional Responsibility 
> Exam (MPRE).  All of these tests have been developed by the National 
> Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), but are given by each state along with 
> any local components.  A few states have agreed to give the Uniform Bar 
> Exam (UBE--which contains all of the above tests) and honor raw data 
> scores from each others' examinees, but all other states make would-be 
> lawyers  write each exam in the original when applying for their licenses.
>
> Had enough alphabet soup yet?
>
> Starting this July, Washington State will be giving the UBE, along with 
> the Washington Law Component (WLC),, a 60-question, online, open book 
> multiple choice test self-administered by the examinee, who will be given 
> 15 or so subject outlines of Washington law whose approach is unique to 
> our state.
>
> There now, the last spoonful of ABC's , if you've not already choked.
>
> Until now, Washington's test has consisted of 24 timed essays, 18 in 
> substantive law and 6 on Washington's professional conduct rules, written 
> within a mandatory character count.
>
> I took my bar review course from BARBRI, who gave me Braille subject 
> outlines and practice essay questions.  The Braille was pretty sloppy, but 
> it was Braille, and I got it on time.  They'd contracted with the Disabled 
> Student Services of Southern Illinois University to produce it.
>
> In March, I asked whether Braille was available for the California, Texas, 
> or Minnesota bar exams, and learned that there was none.  I'd need a 
> warehouse to hold it, I was told, if produced.  Turns out that I'm the 
> only person whose asked Barbri for Braille in recent memory.
>
> My Internet searches have turned up no bar review courses that even 
> mention the ADA, much less offer Braille.  The NCBE offers study aids and 
> practice exams online and through its store, but no reference to Braille 
> is made for these.  I do know that NCBE does offer Braille for the bar 
> exams themselves.
>
> So, given all the above, what have each of you done to prepare for and 
> take the bar exam?  Whose courses did you use?  Did you get Braille 
> materials, use speech alone, study through your smart phones, or use 
> Braille displays? Did you answer with your laptop, dictate to your 
> proctor, or do something else?  And how did you judge in advance what time 
> you'd need for the performance test?
>
> And why is ExamSoft getting away with making inaccessible test software 
> when every law school and state bar association using it has to obey the 
> ADA?
>
> I got sick in mid-April and didn't follow through on my own project.  Now 
> it seems I may need to take all those multistate tests anyway,since I've 
> just missed passing Washington's last essay exam.
>
> So would you share your experiences with me, please?  I'm now fascinated 
> with this whole subject of across the country lawyer testing, reciprocity 
> and lack thereof, and accessibility.
>
> Heartfelt thanks.
>
> Elizabeth
>
>
>
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