Lawyers for a group of blind law students said Wednesday that they have settled their claims against Dallas-based bar examination prep company, BARBRI, Inc.
The students filed their lawsuit in Dallas federal court in 2016, alleging BARBRI violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to properly accommodate blind law students.
As part of the settlement agreement, BARBRI agreed as part of a consent decree to update its online products using industry-recognized web accessibility guidelines, and to strengthen internal processes, training and staff resources for ensuring compliance with these standards. The monetary terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
In a statement, BARBRI spokesperson Cindy Parks said “BARBRI is committed to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act and we will continue to do so. This settlement reflects a mutually agreeable resolution among the parties and we look forward to provide the best in bar preparation to all students.”
BARBRI was represented by Dallas attorneys Wayne Gordon and Amie Fordan of Touchstone Bernays Johnston Beall Smith & Stollenwerck and Jessica Glatzer Marson of Gardere Wynne Sewell.
Wayne Krause Yang, Hani Mirza and Abigail Frank of the Texas Civil Rights Project, an Austin-based nonprofit organization, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs in April 2016, alleging that the company refused to move “several accessibility barriers to its mobile application, website and course materials” that hinder “blind students from entering the legal field by preventing them from fully, equally and adequately preparing for the bar exam.”
The plaintiffs were also represented by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and New York plaintiffs’ firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll.
The named plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit included Derek Manners, a 2016 Harvard Law School graduate who attended the University of Texas for undergrad; Claire Stanley, an aspiring disability rights attorney and 2015 University of California Irvine School of Law graduate; and Christopher Stewart, a 2016 graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law.
“As a blind professional, I, like many other professionals with disabilities, must often carry a burden of injustice while pursuing my dreams, and that’s why I’m proud that my co-plaintiffs and I were able to hold a company like BARBRI accountable to all students,” Stewart said in a statement. “Everyone who seeks to make their world a better place through hard work, diligence, and perseverance should have a fair and equal opportunity to do so. With the consent decree enforceable for the next three years, my co-plaintiffs and I are committed to ensuring BARBRI’S course is accessible for all. We encourage blind students to seek our help if they experience any challenges or issues, and I look forward to a great user experience when I prepare for a second state’s bar exam next year.”
BARBRI hosts the “BARBRI Bar Review,” which is the largest bar exam preparation class in the country. The course includes in-person live lectures and classroom sessions as well as an array of online and mobile-based resources, including practice questions, test guides, chat rooms and digital platforms for providing real-time feedback and assessments.
The lawsuit alleged that BARBRI not only failed to ensure equal and timely access to the digital resources, but also refused to take corrective action after being notified numerous times of the students’ accessibility issues. This included two letters that the Washington Lawyers’ Committee sent on behalf of Stanley.
As part of the court-enforced consent decree, BARBRI agreed to injunctive remedies aimed at improving accessibility for its core online products, as well as strengthening internal processes for serving customers who are blind or with low vision. This includes modifications to the company’s web content, mobile applications, and study tools using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) – a set of internationally-and industry-recognized standards for ensuring web content is accessible to those with disabilities. Additionally, BARBRI has agreed to create new staff and training resources to strengthen compliance with these standards, as well as new internal processes to ensure that requests for accommodations, such as Braille or large-print materials, are handled in a timely and efficient manner.