Florida A & M School of Law Charged with Age and Race Discrimination by Applicant Edward Horton.Business Editors/Legal Writers PLANO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2003 Edward A. Horton has filed a complaint with the U. S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights against Florida A& M University, College of Law (FAMU FAMU Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University FAMU Federación Argentina de Mujeres Universitarias (Spanish) FAMU Federation of Australian Maritime Unions FAMU Fault Alarm Monitor Unit ) over its admissions practices regarding age and race. In the complaint Mr. Horton, age 61, asserts that FAMU's use of the Law School Aptitude Test ap·ti·tude test n. An occupation-oriented test for evaluating intelligence, achievement, and interest. (LSAT LSAT abbr. Law School Admissions Test LSAT (US) n abbr (= Law School Admissions Test) → Zulassungsprüfung für juristische Hochschulen ) discriminated against him on the basis of age because the LSAT test results show a disparate impact A theory of liability that prohibits an employer from using a facially neutral employment practice that has an unjustified adverse impact on members of a protected class. A facially neutral employment practice is one that does not appear to be discriminatory on its face; rather it is on older test takers. The LSAT has been under challenge in the past by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC LSAC Law School Admission Council LSAC Licensed Substance Abuse Counselor (professional certification) LSAC Life Sciences Advisory Committee LSAC Link Signaling Activity Control (CCS #7 ITU-T) ), a national oversight body on law school admission practices. A 1990 research study conducted by Dr. Linda Wightman, Vice President of LSAC concluded that LSAT scores and other simple numerical measurements are poor predictors of law school graduation Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony. The date of event is often called degree day. The event itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation. and bar passage rates. The LSAC study concluded that "more than 75% of all minority law school graduates would have been denied admission under a strictly numerical admissions scheme with heavy emphasis on LSAT scores." Mr. Horton's complaint against FAMU asserts that the same LSAT bias applies to the factor of age because statistical data from recent testing cycles show that applicants' LSAT scores progressively decline in direct relationship to the age of the test takers. Mr. Horton's complaint also raises a "reverse" race discrimination charge against FAMU in that its admission practices at the law school show a discriminatory dis·crim·i·na·to·ry adj. 1. Marked by or showing prejudice; biased. 2. Making distinctions. dis·crim intent to favor minority applicants. The complaint alleges that FAMU, a predominately Black university and recipient of federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education, admitted non-Caucasian applicants with lower LSAT scores to its law school to achieve the "educational needs of Blacks and other ethnic minorities" focus stated in its Mission Statement. The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, located in Atlanta, is handling the complaint. |
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