[Missouri-l] Fw: [Nfb-announce] Court Rules that National Conference of Bar Examiners Must Provide Individualized Testing Accommodations to Blind Law School Graduate

[Chip Hailey]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Danielsen, Chris" <CDanielsen at nfb.org>; <by way of David Andrews 
<dandrews at visi.com>>
To: <david.andrews at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2010 1:02 AM
Subject: [Nfb-announce] Court Rules that National Conference of Bar 
Examiners Must Provide Individualized Testing Accommodations to Blind Law 
School Graduate


>
> 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.
>
>
>
>
>
> ###
>
>
>
>
>
> 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.
>
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