Law School Admission Council agrees to allow accommodations to test takers, provide compensation to those denied

May 21, 2014 / LSAT

The Department of Justice has announced a settlement with the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) over testing accommodations on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). This settlement includes not only increased access to accommodations for individuals with disabilities in the future, but also potential financial compensation to those who asked for accommodations in the past. LSAC has agreed to pay $7.73 million dollars in penalties and damages, the majority of which goes to compensate the thousands of individuals who requested testing accommodations on the LSAT since 2009. LSAC also agreed to update and streamline their process for evaluating and providing accommodations. Notably, LSAC agreed to automatically grant accommodations, including extended time, if other post-secondary tests (such as the SAT or ACT, among others) have granted those accommodations. Finally, LSAC agreed to give up the practice of “flagging,” or specially marking test-takers’ results if they received an accommodation. Together, these changes represent a major change in the accessibility and fairness of the LSAT and its results to individuals with disabilities.

Final approval of the settlement by a federal judge is expected soon. After that occurs, a claims administrator for the settlement funds will be determined and a process will be set up to file claims and receive compensation. Anyone who applied for accommodations on the LSAT from January 1, 2009, until now may be eligible to receive a monetary award and should contact the claims administrator for information. The claims administrator’s identity and contact information will be posted on LSAC’s website once the settlement is approved.