BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2122
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2122 (Lara)
As Amended August 29, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |65-6 |(April 19, |SENATE: |23-13|(August 31, |
| | |2012) | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY : Requires the test sponsor of the Law School Admission
Test (LSAT) to establish a public process for determining
whether to provide testing accommodations, as specified, and a
timely appeals process, to provide testing accommodations, as
specified, and prohibits the flagging of test scores obtained
using accommodations. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the test sponsor of the LSAT to provide testing
accommodations to a test subject with a disability, as
defined, who makes a timely request to ensure that the LSAT
accurately reflects the aptitude, achievement levels, or other
factors that the test purports to measure and does not reflect
the test subject's disability.
2)Requires the process for determining whether to grant an
accommodation pursuant to 1) to be made public, and the
decision to be conveyed to the requester within a reasonable
amount of time.
3)Requires the test sponsor do the following:
a) If it denies a request for accommodation, provide to the
requestor the reasons for the denial in writing;
b) Establish a timely appeals process for a test taker who
has been denied an accommodation request; and,
c) Clearly post on the LSAT Web site information regarding
refund policies for people whose requests for accommodation
are denied.
4)Requires the test sponsor to, consistent with existing law,
give considerable weight to documentation of past
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modifications, accommodations, or auxiliary aids or services
received by the test subject in similar testing situations
when determining whether to grant an accommodation to the test
subject, when a test subject has received formal testing
accommodations from a postsecondary education institution for
a disability, as defined.
5)Prohibits the test sponsor from notifying a test score
recipient (law schools) that the score of any test subject was
obtained by a person who received accommodations.
6)Prohibits the test sponsor of the Law School Admission Test
from withholding any information that would lead a test score
recipient to deduce that a score was earned by a subject who
received an accommodation pursuant to this section.
7)Provides that this bill is not to be construed to limit or
replace any other right or remedy that exists under state or
federal law.
8)Clarifies that this bill does not provide greater protections
to persons with disabilities that those afforded by Civil Code
Section 51.
The Senate amendments :
1)Note that several of these provisions are declaratory of
existing law.
2)Prohibit the test sponsor of the Law School Admission Test
from withholding any information that would lead a law school
to deduce that a score was earned by a subject who received an
accommodation.
3)Make other clarifying amendments.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : There are numerous test sponsors conducting testing
services in California. While all test sponsors have
established testing accommodations procedures, as required by
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the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the process for test
subjects to receive formal testing accommodations and the
requirements for verifying disabilities and granting
accommodations varies significantly among test sponsors.
This bill would require LSAT test sponsors to make public the
process for determining whether to grant an accommodation,
convey the decision to the requester within a reasonable amount
of time, state the reasons for denial in writing, establish a
timely appeal process, and post its refund policy on its Web
site.
Several provisions of this bill are declaratory of existing law
(ADA), including sections that require consideration of
accommodations provided previously by postsecondary education
institutions and the release of information to law schools that
a test subject was granted an accommodation, a practice commonly
referred to as "flagging" a score.
This bill does not apply to sponsors of other postsecondary
education related tests, many of whom do not currently follow
all of the provisions outlined in this bill. According to the
author, this bill targets the Law School Admission Council as
the process for test subjects to request and obtain
accommodations when taking the LSAT creates significant barriers
for persons with disabilities.
Analysis prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN:
0005838