[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-160412-en":3,"doc-seo-160412-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30},160412,7971461741311,"Ophelia","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/74000253aff267980c6?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1779345379180704826",4,"Exam","ADHD, the ADA, and First-Year Law School Examinations","The article examines whether extra time for first-year law school “fact-pattern” exams is a required accommodation for students diagnosed with ADHD under federal disability statutes, focusing on the common practice of granting time-and-a-half or double time. It argues that the prevailing approach rests on an incorrect legal assumption and that existing judicial precedent supports a contrary conclusion. Using the Oser v. Capital University Law School dispute as a central reference, the analysis clarifies why law schools should not treat extended testing time as automatically mandated.","ADHD, THE ADA, AND FIRST-YEAR LAW SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS  \nLUKE MEIER*  \nEvery year, roughyl thirytive thousand law students complete their firsty- ear law school exams. The format for these firsty- ear exams is mostly the same across different courses and across different schools:  \nStudents are given a fact pattern (or two, or three) to analyze according to the substantive law learned by the students during the term. Students work within time restraints (usually about three hours); students almost always leave the exam feeling that they could have performed a better legal analysis if they had been given more time.  \nIn recent years, schools have altered this format for students who have obtained a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (“ADHD”). These students are usually given 50% more time to complete the exam than students who have not received a similar diagnosis. In some cases, students with an ADHD diagnosis are given twice as much time to complete the exam.  \nThis result (which is standard operating procedure at most law schools) is based on the assumption that the “accommodation” of extra time is required under federal statutes protecting the disabled (such asthe Americans with Disabilities Act). This legal conclusion, however, is erroneous. This Article explains why.  \nI. INTRODUCTION  \nIn Oser v. Capital University Law School,1 law student Andrew Oser—after struggling in law school—obtained a diagnosis from Doctor Nancy Krasa that he suffered from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) .2 Doctor Krasa recommended that Mr. Oser be provided extra time to complete his law school exams; Dr. Krasa’s suggestion was that Mr. Oser be given an extra ten minutes for each hour of law school exam.3 Capital University Law School, however, declined the accommodation  \nCopyright © 2026, Luke Meier  \n* Judge Sam Johnson Professor of Law, Baylor Law School. Thanks to the many people who contributed to the writing of this Article. No AI was used in the writing or the research of this Article.  \n1 Oser v. Cap. Univ. L. Sch., No. 2:09-cv-709, 2009 WL 2913919 at *1 (S.D. Ohio Sep. 8, 2009) .  \n2 Id.  \n[3](3 Id. at)[ Id.](3 Id. at)[ at](3 Id. at) *2 .  \n710 CAPITAL UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [53:709  \nrecommended by Dr. Krasa.4 Mr. Oser then sued, arguing that the failure to award him ten minutes for each hour of law school exam constituted a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1974.5 Capital University Law School defended its decision not to grant the recommended ten-minutes-per-hour accommodation by arguing that (1) time pressure on law school exams plays an important academic function in measuring the speed at which students perform a legal analysis and (2) law school grades—which are set on a curve—determine class rank, which is an important factor for prospective employers in deciding whether to offer future employment to law students.6 The federal court sided with Capital University Law School.7  \nThe result in Oser is probably shocking to most law students or recent law-school graduates. Law schools now routinely provide extra time on law school exams for students that have obtained a medical diagnosis of ADHD.8 Moreover, the extra time now provided is much more than what was requested by Oser. Oser was denied an accommodation of 17% extra time (an extra 10 minutes/hour); law students with an ADHD diagnosis today are usually given 50% extra time (an extra 30 minutes/hour); in some cases, students are given 100% extra time (an extra hour/hour) .9 The Oser decision has not been overruled, and no other case squarely addresses the question of extended time on law school exams for a student with an ADHD diagnosis. Thus, law schools (law schools!) are presently giving an  \n4 Id.  \n[5](5 Id. at)[ Id.](5 Id. at)[ at](5 Id. at) *3 . Oser also brought claims under the Ohio Civil Rights Act. See id.  \n[6](6 Id. at)[ Id.](6 Id. at)[ at](6 Id. at) *8 .  \n7 Id.  \n8 See Scott Devito, Th","cbCairVf9XaXk9t9","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairVf9XaXk9t9","pdf",1339070,3,1,116,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n## ADHD accommodations in first-year law exams\n## The Oser case and the federal-law analysis\n## Why current practice exceeds what precedent requires","[{\"question\":\"Why do law schools commonly give extra time to students with an ADHD diagnosis?\",\"answer\":\"Law schools typically treat extra time as a required “accommodation” under federal disability statutes protecting disabled students.\"},{\"question\":\"What did the Oser v. Capital University Law School case hold regarding extended time?\",\"answer\":\"The federal court sided with the law school and rejected the claim that additional minutes per hour were required under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act.\"},{\"question\":\"Does federal law require extra time for ADHD students on timed first-year fact-pattern exams?\",\"answer\":\"The article concludes the legal answer is “no,” arguing that extended time is not mandated by federal law for this exam format.\"}]","ADHD, the ADA, and First-Year Law School Examinations | PDF",1788063140,292,{"code":4,"msg":32,"data":33},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":34,"title":13,"keywords":35,"description":14,"schema_data":36,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":29},"adhd-the-ada-and-first-year-law-school-examinations","",{"@graph":37,"@context":85},[38,53,68],{"@type":39,"itemListElement":40},"BreadcrumbList",[41,45,49,51],{"item":42,"name":43,"@type":44,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":46,"name":47,"@type":44,"position":48},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":50,"name":12,"@type":44,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":44,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/adhd-the-ada-and-first-year-law-school-examinations/160412/",{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":42,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-03","2026-08-30",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"Why do law schools commonly give extra time to students with an ADHD diagnosis?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"Law schools typically treat extra time as a required “accommodation” under federal disability statutes protecting disabled students.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"What did the Oser v. Capital University Law School case hold regarding extended time?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"The federal court sided with the law school and rejected the claim that additional minutes per hour were required under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"Does federal law require extra time for ADHD students on timed first-year fact-pattern exams?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"The article concludes the legal answer is “no,” arguing that extended time is not mandated by federal law for this exam format.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":52,"og:type":87,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":58,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":89,"canonical":52},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":25},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":92},[93,97,101,104,109,114,119,124,129,132,136],{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":94,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":48,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},70,"exam",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":120,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":122,"slug":123},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":126,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":128},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":130,"show_sort_weight":127,"slug":131},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":133,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":134,"show_sort_weight":133,"slug":135},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":137,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":138,"show_sort_weight":105,"slug":139},19,"General","general"]