Feb 8 (Reuters) - The American Bar Association has
adopted a resolution calling on administrators of the Law School
Admissions Test to ensure that test-takers with disabilities
receive accommodations such as extra time to take the exam.
The resolution, which is not binding on exam administrators,
was adopted unanimously on Monday at the association's mid-year
meeting in New Orleans. It urges LSAT providers to provide
conditions for disabled test-takers that "best ensure that the
exam results reflect what the exam is designed to measure, and
not the test taker's disability."
The resolution also calls on the Law School Admissions
Council, which administers the LSAT, to refrain from notifying
law schools which test-takers are given allowances because of a disability; to make guidelines for accommodations readily
accessible; to give appropriate notice as to whether
accommodations have been granted; and to provide a process to
reconsider any denials.
Daniel Goldstein, an attorney for the National Federation of
the Blind, praised the resolution. "We are very pleased the ABA
took this step, which is very much needed," he said. "Getting
appropriate accommodation from LSAC is a very difficult (issue)
for students with disabilities. We hope this resolution will
prompt a cooperative effort by all concerned stakeholders."
But Wendy Margolis, the LSAC's director of communications,
called the resolution an "oversimplification of the issues"
around accommodating test-takers with disabilities.
"LSAC believes that the ABA's Commission and House of
Delegates based their report and resolution on outdated,
incomplete information that does not accurately reflect current
practices and does not take into account the actual experiences
of disabled test takers," Margolis said.
'NEEDED A TWO-BY-FOUR'
The proposal's passage was overdue, some critics
said. Katherine O'Neil, who heads the ABA's commission on
disability rights, said in an email to Reuters that the LSAC and
the ABA's Section on Legal Education "stonewalled the disability
community for years" regarding LSAT accommodations.
"We needed a two-by-four to get them to come to the table
and discuss our differences," O'Neil said.
Margolis of the LSAC denied stonewalling, and said, "We are
very concerned about disabled applicants, but we have to
maintain the fairness of the test for everyone who takes it."
The resolution comes in the wake of multiple lawsuits
against the LSAC by prospective test-takers seeking
accommodations for disabilities.
In 2009, the National Federation of the Blind sued
the LSAC for allegedly discriminating against blind law-school
applicants by failing to make its website and LSAT-preparation
materials accessible to the blind. The council settled that
case, agreeing to make its website more accessible to the
visually impaired.
Last November, a woman who was granted extra time to take
the LSAT in 1992 sued exam administrators for refusing to give
her another extension when she re-took the exam in December. The
parties in that case reached a settlement as of last week,
according to Jo Anne Simon, the plaintiff's attorney. Simon said
her client will be granted twice the standard amount of time to
take the exam, along with additional breaks between sections.
And last week, a University of Pennsylvania student who had
been diagnosed with a learning disorder and was seeking extra
time to take the LSAT sued the LSAC in Massachusetts federal
court.
The case was voluntarily dismissed on Tuesday, according to
court papers. An attorney for the plaintiff did not immediately
return a message seeking comment.
(Reporting by Moira Herbst)
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