[Njabs-talk] Federal Judge Orders the National Conference of Bar Examiners to Provide Individualized Testing Accommodations to Blind Law School Graduate

[EVELYN E. VALDEZ]

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.