The University of Connecticut School of Law in Hartford. Photo: Peter Morenus/UConn

Following a four-hour Zoom meeting Thursday, the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee announced it would once again reschedule the 2020 bar exam.

The committee announced during the  meeting, with about 85 people attending, that the bar examination slated for Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 in Hartford would be pushed back to an online-only format on Oct. 5-6.

The controversial move followed similar decisions in other states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Massachusetts, which have decided to hold exams on the same two days.

Thursday's attendees complained that the meeting wasn't properly posted, and that the decision was made without their input. A group of recent law school graduates has asked the Rules Committee of the Superior Court to grant "diploma privilege," and do away with the upcoming bar exam.

Diploma privileges, which have been adopted in Utah, Oregon, Washington and Louisiana, allow for law school graduates to be licensed without having to take the exam, and are a response to COVID-19 health concerns.

University of Connecticut School of Law 2020 graduate Wyatt Bosworth, one of five organizers of a petition for the diploma privilege, told the Connecticut Law Tribune that CBEC did not adequately notice the meeting. He said the meeting was posted on the CBEC website, but not on its homepage, which would have been easier to locate. He added that graduates were never notified via email. Some came upon the notice "by happenstance" and notified others to join the Zoom meeting.

Echoing the petition, Bosworth said, "We have serious problems with the online exam. There is an equity concern and not everyone has stable Wi-Fi and not everyone has access to high-quality technology. This test would require a webcam and not everyone has one."

In addition, Bosworth said, "There is also a problem with the environment people live in. People could be distracted if they don't have access to a quiet study space or quiet testing environment. There is also a good chance the technology will not work as it's unproven and untested. An online bar exam has never happened in the history of the bar exam."

Bosworth said he'd be taking the online exam, though, because "my job and my livelihood depend on me getting my license and paying off debt." Bosworth said the petition for diploma privilege garnered nearly 500 signatures in just two days and was sent to Gov. Ned Lamont and state legislative leaders, as well as Attorney General William Tong.

Many law school graduates were allowed to speak at the end of the Zoom meeting of the examining committee, with some complaining the board had made its decision before getting public input.

"I heard very little comment or discussion on the concerns of the applicants," said University of Connecticut School of Law graduate Gabby Gelozin during an allotted three-minute address to the committee. "Almost all of the comments were about the burden on the committee."

Fellow 2020 University of Connecticut School of Law graduate Allison Conley agreed. "I echo the disappointment that a vote was taken without listening first."

During the meeting, CBEC chairwoman and Pullman & Comley member Anne Dranginis said, "There are differences of opinion about the necessity of the bar exam."

"I think part of what this committee has always taken seriously is the expectation from the public that we are vouching for the education you have received," Dranginis said during the meeting. She noted that one person emailed her recommending the board publish the names of anyone who gets a diploma privilege because the person commenting "would never want to hire such a person."

Rules Committee Chairman and Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Andrew McDonald did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Related stories:

Illinois and Ohio Move Bar Exam Online as Reciprocity Gains Traction

Louisiana Joins the Diploma Privilege Party, Will Let Law Grads Skip Bar Exam