[blindlaw] LSAT Disability Accommodation Plans Under Way, The National

Ben Fulton bluezinfandel at hotmail.com
Wed Aug 26 23:23:42 UTC 2015


Hello,
 
I wrote the LSAT in June 2014.  I prepared very thoroughly for it.  It was actually the 2nd time I wrote it, not due to poor scores but because law schools do not look at scores over 5 years old.  I lost my vision to RP and had to take time off school adjusting to the final stages of vision loss.  It took more time to learn how to use a screen reader and many other things than I thought it would.
 
1 thing I noticed was the lack of available study material for fully blind students.  When using a cctv to prepare for the exam I had dozens of test to work with I could really immerse myself in the types of questions.  When I was fully blind I could only get 5 electronic copies from the LSAC to study from.  I tried scanning in purchased copies but the errors and idiosyncraticies made it difficult to work with these copies.  Especially when attempting to simulate writing an actual test.  I felt this dirth of relevant and usable material was a hinderance to achieving the mark I wanted.  Is there anything to be done about this situation facing fully blind students studying for the LSAT?
 
 
 
> Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2015 21:54:17 +0000
> From: "Nightingale, Noel" <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
> To: "blindlaw at nfbnet.org" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [blindlaw] LSAT Disability Accommodation Plans Under Way, The
> 	National Law Journal, August 20 2015
> Message-ID:
> 	<BY2PR09MB111093BC7F710F0F5825B2AF9620 at BY2PR09MB111.namprd09.prod.outlook.com>
> 	
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> 
> Link:
> http://www.nationallawjournal.com/home/id=1202735297656/LSAT-Disability-Accommodation-Plans-Under-Way?mcode=1202617074964&curindex=3&slreturn=20150724164902
> 
> Text:
> LSAT Disability Accommodation Plans Under Way
> Karen Sloan, The National Law Journal
> August 20, 2015
> 
> The Law School Admission Council has until late October-when registration closes for the December Law School Admission Test-to revise its disability accommodation policies.
> 
> The revisions stem from an Aug. 7 decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero who upheld a series of changes that will make it easier for disabled test takers to obtain accommodations on the LSAT. Those changes include reducing the medical documentation most applicants are required to produce; allowing evidence of previous accommodations from earlier in an applicant's academic career; and having an outside expert automatically review applications denied by council staff.
> 
> According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the updated procedures will be in place for the Dec. 5 administration of the exam, though that timeline may be delayed should the council file an appeal.
> 
> Council spokeswoman Wendy Margolis on Thursday declined to comment whether the organization plans an appeal to the U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, but the group updated its website to report upcoming changes.
> 
> "[The council] will be revising its test accommodation policies and procedures in accordance with the court's ruling," reads a statement on the council's website. "In the meantime, candidates should continue to consult [the council's] website for information on applicable policies and procedures for requesting accommodations on the LSAT."
> 
> The parties have until October 6 to file an appeal.
> 
> The new procedures will not be in place for the next LSAT administration on October 3, however.
> 
> Meanwhile, the Justice Department reported that $6.73 million has been distributed to 2,695 people who applied for disability accommodations on the LSAT in recent years. That compensation fund was established under a May 2014 consent decree between the council and the Justice Department and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, following two years of litigation.
> 
> The California agency first sued the council on behalf of disabled test takers in 2012, alleging its LSAT accommodation procedures were too onerous and violated the Americans With Disabilities Act. The Justice Department joined the class action soon after.
> 
> In addition to the compensation fund, last year's consent decree ended so-called "flagging," in which the council alerted law schools when LSAT scores were earned under extra time.
> 
> But the parties continued to clash this year over a set of recommended changes to how the council evaluates requests for accommodation put forth by a five-member expert panel formed under the consent decree.
> 
> The council challenged the majority of the recommendations in court, claiming the panel overstepped its mandate and that the proposed changes would harm the credibility of the exam. Spero upheld all the key recommendations, however.
> 
> Contact Karen Sloan at ksloan at alm.com.
> 
> 

 		 	   		  


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