[blindLaw] Accommodations for bar exam

Tue Nov 1 15:41:27 UTC 2022

We have litigated several cases to establish the right to take the bar exam in an electronic format with a screen reader.  You should report any refusal to grant that request immediately.  There is a long string cite of cases supporting the view that bar exams must be offered in accessible electronic formats.

-----Original Message-----
From: Sanho Steele-Louchart <sanho817 at gmail.com> 
Sent: Monday, October 31, 2022 7:09 AM
To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Accommodations for bar exam

Ugh. Disappointing, but not surprising, to hear that James had the polar opposite experience than I did. I wonder if the board of bar examiners pulled my accommodation documentation directly from my school. I suspect I signed a release of information somewhere along the way. In response to Nikki's scantron issue, I just typed my answers in a Word document that was saved onto a USB and filled out for me after the exam was finished. The essay answers were saved and submitted just as though they'd been hand-written.

Warmth,
Sanho

On 10/31/22, Singh, Nandini via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Lauren,
>
> I second James' documentation recommendations. Demonstrating a history 
> of using what is for you a standard set of accommodations usually goes 
> a long way (excluding the LSAC) in convincing the powers that be to 
> approve accommodation requests. At this point, I am not quite 
> remembering my process when I was working on getting accommodations 
> for NY. I imagine some forms were involved, with a place to submit 
> extra documentation. I also remained in close email contact with 
> whoever was the testing accommodations coordinator. That individual 
> was fantastic and really helped things go
> smoothly: my accommodations were approved, and aside for a completely 
> random family emergency the day before, the exam days went well. I had 
> an electronic exam, probably Word or HTML. I could use JAWS on my own 
> laptop. I also used a Braille note taker to write out essays that I 
> uploaded to a Word document via a card reader and memory card. I 
> believe that the oddest item was having to announce my answers to my 
> proctor/scribe, but it was not a big deal, as I had to do this for the 
> MPRE. The proctor, as Sanho similarly described, got up from her chair 
> from time to time to check that I was not doing anything untoward. 
> Most of the time, she read a novel or worked on a crossword to pass the many hours in the exam room.
>
> Regards,
> Nikki
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of James Fetter 
> via BlindLaw
> Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2022 11:46 PM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: James Fetter <jtfetter at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Accommodations for bar exam
>
> [EXTERNAL]
>
> Lauren,
> I would suggest doing the following ASAP:
> 1. Gather all, and I do mean all, proof of accommodations you received 
> on prior standardized tests, in college and law school, and whatever 
> else they ask for.
> 2. Find someone you trust to help fill out inaccessible forms. Is this 
> remotely fair or ADA compliant? No. Do boards of law examiners care? 
> Also no.
> 3. Include in your application a letter detailing your requested 
> accommodations and justifying each with reference to accommodations 
> you received in the past.
> 4. Read, very carefully, any correspondence from your state board. And 
> push back hard, if they don’t give you what you need to do your best. 
> You absolutely should get an accessible electronic exam/Jaws and the 
> ability to write essays on your computer, but your MBE answers will 
> likely be recorded by a scribe. This is pretty standard.
> Good luck! I went through the accommodations process in two different 
> states. I still have PTSD from the Kafkaesque process in one of these 
> states.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Oct 30, 2022, at 8:53 PM, Lauren Bishop via BlindLaw 
>> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> Good evening All,
>> Have any of you had success with advocating for an accessible 
>> electronic version of your bar exam, and the ability to use jaws? I 
>> was looking at the Florida accommodations petition, and I noticed 
>> that the only formats that they listed or braille, large, print, or 
>> audio CD. The petition doesn’t say anything about the use of a screen 
>> reader, and, although I am proficient in braille, I need to be able 
>> to type my essays because I’ve never worked with a scribe before. 
>> Also, I use jaws more than I use braille, and in past standardized, test administrations, I have use the
>> screen reader to take the test.   I’m also noticing that none of the
>> petition documents are fillable I a person using a screen reader.
>> If any of you have information regarding this, I would really 
>> appreciate it.
>> Lauren.
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
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>
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He/Him