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A beloved professor and friend of mine reached out today asking for my thoughts about the online NY bar exam in Oct. I have decided to share some of those thoughts here, to offer visibility into why an online exam is NOT the solution. /1
First, 2 out of the 3 jurisdictions that planned to offer online bar exams already canceled yesterday due to technical difficulties - Nevada and Indiana. They were canceled mere days before the scheduled exam date. /2
One July state, MI, is still a go - but given the sudden cancelations elsewhere, examinees can’t really be sure it’ll happen. If it does, having thousands using one system at the same time is bound to be rife with issues that likely won’t be solved by Oct. /3
Second, I want to highlight this “code of conduct” for the Tennessee online exam. As I’ve tweeted before: if NY adopts these same rules for an online exam, I WILL fail. https://twitter.com/gia_grimm_/status/1286726269116219405 /4 @gia_grimm_
I have ADHD, which I can’t simply turn off for the purposes of this exam. Online proctoring apparently involves monitoring everything about us - down to hair-twirling and looking to the side for longer than a few seconds. /5
Third, I have been granted accommodations on exam pursuant to comprehensive medical evaluation. New York has stated that ADA test accommodations will be honored for the October 2020 bar exam, and that the logistics will be communicated “on an individual basis by the board.” /6
However, other online jurisdictions like CA have explicitly stated that certain accommodations (including ones I’m given) will NOT be granted in an online setting, and that those examinees will be required to test in person. /7
If New York follows California’s lead here, I will not even have the option of testing online – but instead, be forced to test in person, alongside other already-vulnerable ADA examinees, during a pandemic. /8
Fourth, as this @ACLU letter states, remote proctoring collects biometric information which is “antithetical to protecting the public.” The letter raises vital and deeply concerning points re: racial bias in facial recog technologies. https://bit.ly/3fYWaDe /9
Other online jurisdictions like Florida are also placing open calls for volunteer proctors - meaning really anyone who wants to can volunteer to gain access to an examinee’s computer screen and microphone for hours on end. https://bit.ly/30KT4fI /10
Women who took the online administered medical boards recently have reported being friended on Facebook by the proctors who watched them in their homes. As a survivor of past online harassment, this is a subject of very real fear for me. https://twitter.com/gia_grimm_/status/1284192096342114304 /11 @gia_grimm_
Finally, online jurisdictions are generally not permitting scratch paper – making it impossible for examinees to implement any of the diagramming testing strategies we have spent months learning. /12
This is particularly challenging for examinees with learning disabilities that rely on visual techniques to condense and organize information. /13
It is also extremely difficult for us to try and devise last-minute alternative strategies relevant to the test content because - as of today - the NYBOLE still has made no clear decisions about what substantive components will actually be on the online exam. /14
The above really only scratches the surface of why an online bar exam is a complete unacceptable, inequitable, and unsafe way to evaluate bar candidates in 2020. I know there are many more reasons, and I encourage other examinees to share them so I can amplify your voices. /15
Finally, if you are a New York resident, I implore you - take a few minutes today, call your representatives, and tell them to support diploma privilege legislation. The team at @dp4ny has put together a great script for the calls, here: https://twitter.com/dp4ny/status/1286727262734254084 /16
Diploma privilege is the only equitable option - and thanks to the NY legislature, there’s still hope for it. But we can’t do it alone. Professors, attorneys, friends: please use your voices, and support the next generation of legal professionals. /End
(Edit on #15: *completely*, not complete)
Also, anyone who wants to support the movement nationwide should follow @DiplomaPriv4All
I am also sharing, in two installments, a letter that the New York State Law Grad Coalition sent recently to the @NYSBA. It outlines some of the major problems with administering an online bar exam. 1/2
The second installment of the letter to @NYSBA. I hope @nysbapresident and the association will speak out soon & show their support for the next generation of legal talent. 2/2 #mybarstoryny
