Overview
On January 22, 2018, blind law students enrolled in a bar exam class offered by BarBri, Inc. – host of the country’s largest bar prep course – settled their American with Disabilities Act and Chapter 121 of the Texas Human Resources Code legal claims against the company for denying them fair and equal access to critical components of BarBri’s test prep offerings, including its mobile application, website and course materials.
As a part of a court-enforced consent decree, BarBri has agreed to make its products and service offering accessible to blind law students and in compliances with ADA requirements, as well as strengthen internal processes, training and staff resources to ensure such compliance.
Case Background
On July 19, 2016 Cohen Milstein and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Urban Affairs, and Texas Civil Rights Project filed a putative class action against Barbri, Inc., the largest bar preparation course in the United States, for violating the American with Disabilities Act and Chapter 121 of the Texas Human Resources Code by maintaining barriers to accessibility for blind law students who use talking screen reading software and failing to make reasonable accommodations or provide auxiliary aids to access BarBri services or materials, and thus unnecessarily hindering or preventing them from fully, equally, and adequately preparing for the bar exam.
Plaintiffs sought an order requiring BarBri to provide bar examination preparation services that are accessible to blind law students, including website and mobile applications, as well as financial compensation to those blind law students who signed up for and relied on BarBri’s review services, but found those services inaccessible. Plaintiffs also sought financial relief for the harm they experienced because of BarBri’s inaccessible materials.
Claire Stanley, et al. v. BarBri, Inc., Case No. 3:16-cv-01113-O, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division