[nfb-talk] Court Rules that National Conference of Bar Examiners Must Provide Individualized Testing Accommodations to Blind Law School Graduate

[Danielsen, Chris]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

cdanielsen at nfb.org


Court Rules that National Conference of Bar Examiners Must Provide 
Individualized Testing Accommodations to Blind Law School Graduate




Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Denies NCBE Motion to Stay Preliminary 
Injunction



San Francisco, California (February 24, 2010): The Ninth Circuit 
Court of Appeals yesterday refused to stay a preliminary injunction 
requiring the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) to provide 
a blind law school graduate with the technology-based testing 
accommodations she needs to take two exams required to become a 
member of the State Bar of California.  A federal judge had 
previously granted the preliminary injunction requiring the 
accommodations, but the NCBE appealed the ruling.  The Ninth 
Circuit's ruling allows the plaintiff, Stephanie Enyart, to take the 
February 2010 Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) and March 2010 
Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) on a laptop 
computer equipped with the assistive technology software Ms. Enyart 
relies upon for screen reading (JAWS) and screen magnification (ZoomText).



Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, 
said: "The court's action puts an end to Stephanie Enyart's year-long 
ordeal to get the accommodations she needs to take this crucial step 
in her chosen career.  As we have said before, those who control 
admission to the practice of law must themselves obey the law."



The suit was filed on November 3, 2009, due to the NCBE's refusal, on 
multiple occasions during the past year, to allow Ms. Enyart to use 
the same technology on the MBE and MPRE that she has used on 
university and law school exams and in various jobs and 
internships.  The suit charged that the NCBE violated the Americans 
with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act 
by denying accommodations on the MBE and the MPRE.



NCBE had argued that it fulfilled its legal obligations to Ms. Enyart 
by offering alternative accommodations, such as a human reader, 
notwithstanding evidence that these alternatives did not, in fact, 
fully accommodate Ms. Enyart's disability.  In rejecting NCBE's 
argument, the court's ruling paves the way for other individuals 
prevented from pursuing their professional dreams by high stakes 
testing providers who take a rigid approach to disability accommodations.



The plaintiff is represented with the support of the National 
Federation of the Blind by LaBarre Law Offices, P.C., in Denver, 
Colorado, and by Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, in Baltimore, 
Maryland.  The plaintiff is further represented by Disability Rights 
Advocates, a nonprofit law center that specializes in civil rights 
cases on behalf of persons with disabilities, based in Berkeley, California.





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About the National Federation of the Blind

With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind 
is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind 
people in the United States.  The NFB improves blind people's lives 
through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs 
encouraging independence and self-confidence.  It is the leading 
force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's 
blind.  In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the 
Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in 
the United States for the blind led by the blind.