St. Louis Woman Fights for More Time on Law School Test

A lawsuit pitting a St. Louis woman against the national organization that handles law school admission tests boils down to 54 minutes.

That’s the amount of extra time the recent graduate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis says she needs in order to be judged fairly by the test, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in St. Louis.

The suit argues that 61-year-old Joan Hoyt, who has learning and attention disabilities, needs special accommodations when she takes the Law School Admission Test, commonly referred to as the LSAT.

Among her requests, Hoyt wants twice the normal amount of time to take the 210-minute test, used by law school admissions offices to select students. She also is asking for the use of a “white noise” machine, a computer for her written essay, and the ability to bring food and drinks to the exam. The lawsuit says Hoyt has difficulty writing, is easily distracted, needs frequent breaks, and “reads about two and a half times slower than her peers.”

“All she wants is to take the test. She wants to take it on a level playing field,” said Jo Anne Simon, a Brooklyn, N.Y., attorney who specializes in disability cases.

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Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 5, 2013