A recent graduate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis has brought a lawsuit against the national organization that handles law school admission, according to St. Louis Today. 61 year old Joan Hoyt is asking for an additional 54 minutes to take the LSAT. The recent graduate has learning and attention disabilities, and has filed a lawsuit in the St. Louis federal court on Wednesday.
Hoyt’s attorney, Jo Anne Simon, a Brooklyn lawyer who specializes in disability cases comments, that her client is eager to pass the bar exam. “All she wants is to take the test; she wants to take it on a level playing field.” The Law School Admission Council, the Pennsylvania nonprofit organization that administers the tests, only partially granted her request. Joan Hoyt is also asking for a white noise machine and snacks and drinks. She asks for 210 minutes in total to take the LSAT. As of now it is unknown whether or not the Law School Admission Council will allow Hoyt “access to the white noise machine, or a computer and snacks as she requested.”
The lawsuit also asks the court to force the council to “stop telling law school which students are granted extra time or other accommodations for the test.” According to Attorney Simon, this practice indicates which students have disabilities or have asked for accommodations. “It inherently says these scores are less valid,” she comments.