A law clerk at a local Berkeley nonprofit organization filed a suit against a group that helps in the administration of the bar exam for allegedly denying accommodations for blind and low vision law students.

Stephanie Enyart, a clerk for Disability Rights Advocates, suffers from a rare form of macular degeneration which severely affects her eyesight. As a result, throughout law school, she has used a combination of computer software that allows her to work effectively.

"I use speech technology, like a screen reader," she said. "I use a blend of software--it turns the screen black with white letters. In terms of light sensitivity, it is easier for me to look at."

After Enyart graduated from the UCLA School of Law in 2009, she was prepared to take the bar exam, provided her visual disabilities would be accommodated.

However, while the State Bar of California has offered to provide Enyart with the technology she needs to take the exam, the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), which controls the type of accommodations each state can offer, has refused to comply.

"We've already convinced the NCBE to provide the exam in electronic format for people who use ... a screen reader for blind people," said Larry Paradis, executive director of Disability Rights Advocates, one of three firms representing Enyart. "There is very little difference to provide it with zoom text. The big picture here is they don't want to be bothered with providing individualized accommodations."

The NCBE could not be reached for comment.

According to Paradis, the NCBE has suggested Enyart use a human reader for the exam, an accommodation that he believes puts Enyart at a disadvantage.

"She relies on the dual input of the spoken word program and the visual input of a screen magnifier," he said. "The human reader doesn't give her the visual input at all. They want her to process a test totally differently."

The suit is an important one, as an estimated 150 blind or low vision individuals take the bar exam each year, Paradis said.

"It's a growing issue because more and more technology has become the primary means of information gathering for people with sensory disabilities," he said. "This is sort of the wave of the future. People will be using adaptive technology for reading, and we'll need to have that on these high stakes tests."

Paradis said he believes his client's suit will be successful.

"We think we're going to get the judge to issue an preliminary injunction, which will order the testing entities to provide the accommodations of these two software programs and to do so for the upcoming February and March administrations of these exams," he said.

Enyart said she hopes the accommodations will be made so that her abilities as a lawyer can be accurately tested.

"The accommodations that I'm seeking are the accommodations that I've used for all of my legal education, in multiple legal internships and in my current legal work," she said. "I'm just seeking the opportunity to be measured on my ability to work with legal material in the way that I'm going to practice. I think that's what future employers and clients would want."

Tags: NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF BAR EXAMINERS, DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCATES