The State Bar of California isn't planning any last-minute changes to its Feb. 23 and 24 online bar exam. A civil rights group's threat to sue over the use of facial recognition on the upcoming remote bar exam fails to make the case that the technology is discriminatory, according to a response letter from the bar association.

Moreover, moving to an open-book exam as suggested by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law would still require facial recognition in order to verify the identities of test takers, unless the bar eliminated identity verification altogether, the letter states.

"The State Bar looks forward to responding to your concerns about facial recognition technology," reads the Feb. 16 letter from James Chang, assistant general counsel at the bar association. "Your letter, however, discusses this technology in only the most general terms and in other inapplicable contexts. It does not set forth how you believe the State Bar's limited use of facial recognition for identity verification results in 'unlawful disparate impact on examinees of color and women examinees.'"