Opinion ID: 1948306
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Additional Time A Reasonable Accommodation

Text: The purpose of the ADA is to place those with disabilities on an equal footing and not to give them an unfair advantage. D'Amico v. New York State Bd. of Law Examiners, 813 F.Supp. at 221. Compare Southeastern Community College v. Davis, 442 U.S. 397, 413, 99 S.Ct. 2361, 2370, 60 L.Ed.2d 980 (1979) (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973). [6] The integrity of the examination process has been an important consideration for the federal courts in reviewing the reasonableness of accommodations made by testing authorities pursuant to other disabilities legislation. See, e.g., Pandazides v. Virginia Bd. of Educ., 752 F.Supp. 696, 697 (E.D.Va.1990), rev'd and remanded, 946 F.2d 345 (4th Cir.1991). The ADA also provides authority, for example, that a testing authority may refuse to provide an auxiliary aid or service to a disabled person if it meets the burden of establishing that offering [the] particular auxiliary aid would fundamentally alter the measurement of the skills or knowledge the examination is intended to test or would result in an undue burden. 28 C.F.R. § 36.309(b)(3) (1991). A learning disability, such as Rubenstein's, is a condition which the ADA recognizes should be accommodated. 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.104(1)(i), 36.104(1)(i). The regulations promulgated under Title III describe several kinds of accommodations that may be required in the examination process, as well as the limitations on such accommodations that may be applicable. 28 C.F.R. § 36.309 (1991). Those regulations specifically state that [r]equired modifications to an examination may include changes in the length of time permitted for completion of the examination. 28 C.F.R. § 36.309(b)(2) (emphasis added). The record reflects that the Board found that Rubenstein had established that she was a person with a learning disability. The ADA Handbook provides that [e]xaminers may require evidence that an applicant is entitled to modifications. ADA Handbook, III-102, Oct. 1991. The ADA Handbook suggests that appropriate documentation for a requested accommodation might include a letter from a physician or other professional. Id. (emphasis added). In this case, Rubenstein requested the Board to accommodate her learning disability by allowing her additional time to take the Bar Examination. She documented her request with Shaw's expert report. Shaw's report made the following recommendation to the Board: In order to compensate for her disability, unlimited or at least extended time should be granted for the bar examination. This is assuming that the Testing Committee, based upon the new information reported in this examination, would reconsider and allow her to take the test again. The increased time allowed will grant more opportunity for client to read and reread items in order to give additional input [emphasis added]. Shaw's report recommended that Rubenstein be afforded additional time to take the Bar Examination. Shaw's professional recommendation was unqualified. It did not differentiate between the essay section and the MBE section of the Bar Examination with respect to Rubenstein's need for additional time to accommodate her learning disability.