[blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

Angie Matney via blindlaw blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Thu May 29 21:34:08 UTC 2014 

A person with a disability needs to have the right to apply to law
school without referencing their disability if they choose to do so.
While many people might choose to make this known during the
application process--and perhaps for the very reason that they wish to
argue that the test does not reflect their true ability, others might
forgo any potential advantages under the theory that they, not some
third party, should control when and how their disability is disclosed
to admissions officers.

On 5/29/14, Michael Nowicki via blindlaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Dear Mr.  Hoekstra and mr.  Beitz,
>
> Thank you for explaining the issue.  I understand that our LSAT scores are
> currently considered practically invalid, but what are the actual
> implications of this policy?  Specifically, when a law school admissions
> officer sees a flagged score, how does he/she typically react?
>
> Best,
>
> Michal
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sy Hoekstra
> via blindlaw
> Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 3:48 PM
> To: 'Dan Beitz'; 'Blind Law Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission
> Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination
> Lawsuit
>
> And the tests would reflect a disabled person's ability to succeed, at least
> in law school, if they had proper accommodations. The LSAC also has to
> engage in some sort of review of their accommoodations policy as part of the
> settlement, though I don't know the details. But I know if I had had jaws
> and a laptop for the multiple choice, I would have done better than I did
> with a reader, and it would have been an actual sample of my testing
> ability, which is largely the determinate for success in law school.
>
> Plus, part of their flagging policy was not to factor in extra time exam
> scores into their calculation of percentile scores or give examinees who
> used extra time their personal percentile score. That is essentially a
> message to the world, and law school admissions officers, that people who
> use extra time aren't taking the real exam.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dan Beitz
> via blindlaw
> Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:27 PM
> To: Michael Nowicki; Blind Law Mailing List; 'Nightingale, Noel'
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission
> Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination
> Lawsuit
>
> The flagging of test scores almost always means that the results are
> considered not statistically valid, and allegedly invalid scores are
> disregarded.
>
>
>
>
> Daniel K. Beitz
> Wienner & Gould, P.C.
> 950 University Dr., Ste. 350
> Rochester, MI  48307
> Phone:  (248) 841-9405
> Fax:  (248) 652-2729
> dbeitz at wiennergould.com
>
> www.wiennergould.com
>
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Michael
> Nowicki via blindlaw
> Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2014 4:23 PM
> To: 'Nightingale, Noel'; 'Blind Law Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission
> Council to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination
> Lawsuit
>
> Dear List Members,
>
> I am concerned that this settlement, if accepted and adopted, will end up
> hurting more than helping prospective blind lawyers.  After all, based on
> what I know, standardized test scores of persons with disabilities often
> don't reflect their ability to succeed in the relevant educational program.
> Consequently, doesn't the flagging of LSAT scores actually increase a
> qualified blind applicant's chances of law school acceptance?  I know that
> flagging could also have potentially negative consequences, but don't the
> positive ones tend to outweigh the negatives?  I look forward to your
> opinions on this matter.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Michal Nowicki
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw
> Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 12:25 PM
> To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council
> to Settle Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
>
>
>
> From: U.S. Department of Justice [mailto:usdoj at public.govdelivery.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2014 10:07 AM
> To: Nightingale, Noel
> Subject: Landmark Agreement with Law Schol Admission Council to Settle
> Justice Department's Nationwide Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
>
>
> The Justice Department filed a joint motion today for entry of a landmark
> consent decree
> <http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTQwNTIwLjMyMzUzMTcxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE0MDUyMC4zMjM1MzE3MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MDI5MDAxJmVtYWlsaWQ9bm9lbC5uaWdodGluZ2FsZUBlZC5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPW5vZWwubmlnaHRpbmdhbGVAZWQuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&100&&&http://www.ada.gov/defh_v_lsac/lsac_consentdecree.htm>
> to resolve allegations that the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) engaged
> in widespread and systemic discrimination in violation of the Americans with
> Disabilities Act (ADA).  Under the proposed consent decree, LSAC will pay
> $7.73 million in penalties and damages to compensate well over 6,000
> individuals nationwide who applied for testing accommodations on the Law
> School Admission Test (LSAT) over the past five years.  The decree also
> requires comprehensive reforms to LSAC's policies and ends its practice of
> "flagging," or annotating, LSAT score reports for test takers with
> disabilities who receive extended time as an accommodation.  These reforms
> will impact tens of thousands of test takers with disabilities for years to
> come.
>
> For more information or for a copy of the consent decree, please visit our
> ADA website at
> www.ada.gov<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTQwNTIwLjMyMzUzMTcxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE0MDUyMC4zMjM1MzE3MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MDI5MDAxJmVtYWlsaWQ9bm9lbC5uaWdodGluZ2FsZUBlZC5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPW5vZWwubmlnaHRpbmdhbGVAZWQuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&101&&&http://www.ada.gov>.
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> at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD).
>
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