Day 17: Give ESL Students Extra Time on LSAT
The Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) allows testing accommodations for students with documented disabilities, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The most frequently granted accommodation is extra time (usually 150%) to complete the exam. Students submitting documentation of conditions such as ADHD and test anxiety are eligible for this accommodation.
LSAC does not, however, allow any testing accommodations for students who are learning English as a Second Language (ESL). LSAC should change that policy.
The question of accommodations for ESL candidates comes up frequently - at least according to LSAC, since its FAQs page includes the question, “English is not my first language. Am I eligible for accommodations?”
The LSAC responds, “being an English language learner is not considered a disability and does not make you eligible for disability-related accommodations.” (Note: The LSAT is offered in Spanish, but only for candidates taking the test in Puerto Rico and applying to law schools located there and providing instruction in Spanish.)
Although it is clear that the ADA does not require LSAC to provide extra time for ESL takers, that does not preclude LSAC from doing so. Apart from legal compulsion, many of the same rationale for providing disability-related accommodations also exist for providing ESL-related accommodations:
1) not all lawyers are required to work under time-restricted conditions.
People with disabilities were once refused accommodations on the grounds that they wouldn’t be able to do the work of a lawyer. Advocates successfully argued that lawyers are able to structure law practices in a variety of ways to accommodate their individual needs and work styles. Thus, there is no reason for law schools - or the LSAT - not to provide similar accommodations.
The same holds true for ESL. If an ESL lawyer needs to take extra time to read , they can structure their law practice accordingly. Clients are free to judge the value of the lawyer’s services and vote with their feet as they choose.
2) Law Schools provide disability-related accommodations and could have a similar policy for ESL students.
Certainly, law school involves a lot of reading. This, too, was once used as a reason not to make accommodations for people with disabilities. But law school routinely make such accommodations now. (Throughout midterm and final exam periods in our law school, nearly every room and office is used for testing accommodations.) Law schools could choose to do the same for ESL students.
One could argue that, unlike disability, learning English is a condition that can be overcome and should not be accommodated. This is not quite true. While it is correct that an adult can learn a foreign language, a 2018 study suggested the ability to achieve native-level fluency declines rapidly after the age of 17. This means that anyone who began learning English from their mid-teens onward will have difficulty competing with those who grew up in English-speaking countries or households from early childhood. (Moreover, some conditions for which disability-related accommodations are provided - such as test anxiety - may also be surmountable in some cases.)
The scales for law school admission could be evened substantially by providing ESL students extra time on tests.
3) Granting accommodations would be more equitable.
Providing disability-related testing accommodations is more fair to people with disabilities, once some very feasible logistics are taken care of (see above). This better respects the dignity of all people and allows those individuals to achieve their full potential. This is no less true for people who are learning English as their second language due to migration or educational opportunity.
4) Granting Extra time for ESL Takers would diversify the legal profession.
In addition to Kantian rationale, granting disability-related accommodations provides the utilitarian benefit of adding diversity to the legal profession. People who face disabilities may have distinct perspectives on issues facing clients, the legal system, or society generally. Some clients may actively seek out this perspective in their advocates, valuing it even more highly than the ability to work quickly under non-accommodated conditions. The active participation of these attorneys adds value to the legal system overall.
The same is true for people who learn English later in life. Their experiences, either in other countries or in diverse U.S. communities, are likely to bring fresh perspective to the profession and offer a distinct value-add for some clients. LSAC can facilitate that participation just be offering testing accommodations of extra time for ESL takers.