(CN) - The Law School Admission Council sued California, claiming the state keeps law schools from getting "truthful, accurate and non-misleading information about test scores," by refusing to reveal if people get extra time to take the LSAT exam.
The Law School Admission Council sued the state, governor, attorney general and superintendent of public instruction, in Sacramento Superior Court.
The Admission Council challenges Assembly Bill 2122, which Gov. Gerry Brown signed into law on Sept. 26, 2012, and it took effect on New Year's Day.
It claims the law "intentionally singles out and discriminates against LSAC by making section 99161.5 applicable to only the 'test sponsor of the Law School Admission Test' and not to other, similarly situated entities that administer standardized tests in California."
This, and the threat of civil penalties, violates the constitutional right to equal protection and free speech, the Admission Council says.
"Section 99161.5 amounts to a trial by Legislature. It usurps the role of the judicial branch by punishing the conduct of a single, specific entity, in the absence of any evidentiary basis that the harm which the statute purportedly addresses actually exists," the complaint states.
"California's current standardized testing law applies to all test sponsors that administer tests which are used 'for the purpose of admission to, or class placement in, postsecondary educational institutions or their programs, or ... for preliminary preparation for those tests," the Admission Council say. (Ellipsis in complaint.)
These tests include Advanced Placement Tests, the ACT Assessment, and the Medical College Admission Test, the complaint states.
The Admission Council claims that section 99161.5 introduces new restrictions and requirements that affect only it and the LSAT.
"Among other things, the new law prohibits LSAC from providing certain truthful, test-related information to test score recipients - namely, that a given examinee took the LSAT with extra testing time, and the effect that extra testing time can have on the predictive validity of the resulting test scores. At the same time, section 99161.5 requires LSAC to provide other information to score recipients which LSAC believes to be inaccurate and potentially misleading. Section 99161.5 also imposes administrative requirements on LSAC relating to the manner in which it handles disability-based requests for extra testing time and other testing accommodations," the complaint states.
The Admission Council claims AB 2122 violates its rights under the California and U.S. Constitutions, by "expressly and intentionally treating LSAC differently from other similarly situated testing agencies without any rational basis for doing so. It violates the free speech protections found in both Constitutions by abridging LSAC's right to public or disseminate truthful information regarding the meaning of certain LSAT test scores, and by requiring LSAC to public or disseminate inaccurate and potentially misleading information regarding those LSAT test scores."
The Admission Council, a Delaware nonprofit founded in 1947, helps law schools and potential law students with the application process. More than 200 schools in the United States, Canada, and Australia are members of the organization.
The Admission Council prepares and administers the LSAT, "which is administered four times a year at designated test centers around the world."
The half-day exam tests reading, comprehension, logical reasoning and writing skills. Because It is a standardized test, "all examinees take the LSAT under the same testing conditions, including standard testing time. The primary exception is for disabled individuals who need reasonable accommodations," the complaint states.
