When I took the bar exam, I was seated next to a man with a nasal infection, and for the first 15 minutes of the exam each sniffle was like a jackhammer and each snort was like a bomb. The proctor moved me to the other side of the room. This was before the age of COVID-19, where a dry cough may pose a mortal threat.

The Florida Board of Bar Examiners decided to buck the trend of states with many prospective applicants to be lawyers and hold their bar exam in July, and promised to maintain social distancing and require masks. Many large states have postponed their bar exams until September; however, in Florida, we believe our livelihoods are worth risking our lives.

In making this decision, the bar examiners consulted with the Department of Health to ensure that the test-taking environment is safe but failed to make any consideration for the mental health or wellness of the test takers or any consideration for test takers with disabilities. With any high-stakes test, the level of test-taking anxiety shoots through the roof, both before and during the test. Extended stress, such as preparing for the bar exam, weakens the immune system and increases susceptibility to colds and viruses.

If an applicant has a little cough, cold or slight fever, an applicant will wait and hope that their temperature is low enough for admission to the test, but for each sniffle, sneeze or cough in the testing room, there will be a shudder that reverberates through the room.

For persons with disabilities, this test administration is more problematic. The deadline to request disability accommodations has passed, and persons who would not ordinarily request accommodations will now need them. Now, persons who are at-risk or immunocompromised, those with learning disabilities-such as ADHD and with severe anxiety will need private, disease- and distraction-free environments.

While there is no doubt that the bar examiners had in mind the interest and safety of the applicants to earn a livelihood, they failed to take into account the profession's interest in their mental health and wellness.

Matthew W. Dietz

Litigation director

Disability Independence Group Inc.

Miami