[blindLaw] Accommodations for bar exam

Wed Nov 2 03:50:08 UTC 2022

My school provides excellent resources for all students preparing to
take the Bar. I understand not all law schools are like this, and I
also remember collecting my documents to apply for accommodations for
the LSAT. So I know I'll have to do all that myself. But I'm confident
they can get me started by explaining the application process and
assist where they can.

I've got a baby at home and refuse to spend hours fighting with
inaccessible systems and struggling to understand what the Bar
Examiners need to approve my accommodations. If my school can help,
then I'm going to take it where it makes sense. I got a colleague at
work to help me put together my LSAT accommodations packet, and I used
AIRA to help me get all my transcripts to put on that LSAC website for
my law school applications. (These days if you want transcripts, one
of the main websites used to pay and retrieve them makes you sign with
the mouse.) Anyway, readers/law schools are tools in our tool box.
Well, I suppose some law schools aren't set up for this, but if they
do support students taking the Bar, it's likely they have helped
disabled students through the accommodations process before.

Julie

On 11/1/22, Tim Elder via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I recall that this issue was a part of the LSAC consent decree in
> California.  The burdensome documentation and unreasonable timelines issue
> comes up a lot in the testing cases involving learning disabilities, not
> that it isn't also a problem for all disabled people.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: James Fetter <jtfetter at yahoo.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2022 9:15 AM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Sanho Steele-Louchart <sanho817 at gmail.com>; tim at timeldermusic.com
> Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Accommodations for bar exam
>
> Have you litigated—or are you aware of—any cases related to accessibility
> barriers and/or unnecessarily burdensome documentation requirements inthe
> accommodations process itself or other parts of the bar application (e.g. an
> inaccessible character and fitness application)? I could see standing being
> an issue, if the request for accommodations is approved, but it is
> problematic that some state boards have created so many unnecessary
> accessibility barriers to aspiring blind attorneys.
>
> from my iPhone
>
>> On Nov 1, 2022, at 11:43 AM, Tim Elder via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> 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
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> BlindLaw mailing list
>>>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
>>>> for
>>>> BlindLaw:
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/jtfetter%40yah
>>>> o
>>>> o.com
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> BlindLaw mailing list
>>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> BlindLaw:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/nsingh%40cov.co
>>> m _______________________________________________
>>> BlindLaw mailing list
>>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> BlindLaw:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/sanho817%40gmai
>>> l
>>> .com
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> He/Him
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> BlindLaw mailing list
>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> BlindLaw:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/jtfetter%40yahoo
>> .com
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> BlindLaw mailing list
> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> BlindLaw:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/kaybaycar%40gmail.com
>

-- 
Julie A. McGinnity
MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of
Law, JD Candidate 2023