[Nfbk] FW: Federal Judge Orders the National Conference of Bar Examiners to Provide Individualized Testing Accommodations to Blind Law School Graduate

[Cathy]

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbk-bounces at nfbnet.org]On Behalf Of
Freeh,Jessica (by way of David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>)
Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2010 6:44 AM
To: nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Nfbk] Federal Judge Orders the National Conference of Bar
Examiners to Provide Individualized Testing Accommodations to Blind Law
School Graduate


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen, National Federation of the Blind, (410) 659-9314, ext. 2330

Scott LaBarre, LaBarre Law Offices, P.C., (303) 504-5979

Daniel Goldstein, Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, (410) 962-1030

Anna Levine, Disability Rights Advocates, (510) 665-8644




Federal Judge Orders the National Conference of Bar Examiners
to Provide Individualized Testing Accommodations

to Blind Law School Graduate




San Francisco, California (February 5, 2010):  A federal court has ruled
that the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) will cause a blind law
school graduate irreparable harm unless it provides her the technology-based
testing accommodations she needs to take two exams required to become a
member of the State Bar of California.  The court issued its ruling in an
order granting the law school graduate?s motion for preliminary injunction
on Thursday, February 4, 2010.  The court?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 National Federation of the Blind is extremely pleased with the ruling
in this case.  Law and equity simply do not permit the NCBE to dictate a
one-size-fits-all solution for all bar candidates with disabilities.  We
hope that this ruling will cause the NCBE to think long and hard before it
denies the requested accommodations of applicants to take its examinations.?



The plaintiff, Stephanie Enyart, said: ?A little over a year ago I sent my
first request for accommodations on the March 2009 MPRE, and tonight I can
go to sleep knowing when and how I can effectively take the exams to fulfill
my dreams.?



Anna Levine of Disability Rights Advocates, an attorney representing the
plaintiff, said: "I hope that our hard-fought victory here will send a
message to testing organizations that they need to comply with the ADA and
provide each individual test taker with a disability the accommodations that
he or she needs to demonstrate his or her actual knowledge, skills, and
abilities."



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, 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.






###




About the National Federation of the Blind



With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) 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.



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