More than one-third of students at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law receive disability accommodations, and nearly all of them cite mental health or attention issues, according to a recent report.

Andrew Testerman, a recent Berkeley Law graduate, wrote for the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal that 37.5% of Berkeley Law students receive accommodations through the university’s Disabled Students’ Program.

The number matters because many law school grades depend heavily on timed exams. Students with accommodations can receive time-and-a-half or double time, Testerman wrote. This can turn a three-hour exam into a four-and-a-half-hour or six-hour exam.

Testerman said the school’s data shows 98% of disabled law students report a primary or secondary diagnosis of “ADD/ADHD,” “anxiety” or “depression.”

He questioned whether that many students at one of America’s top law schools truly have disabilities that require extra exam time.

“Yet we are asked to believe that students at elite law schools are significantly more likely to be disabled than our nation’s senior citizens,” Testerman wrote.

The College Fix reported community colleges have a disability rate of 3% to 4%, while about 24% of senior citizens have a disability.

The issue connects with a trend The Lion has covered before.

In 2024, The Lion reported some parents seek mental health labels such as ADHD, anxiety or depression for their children so they can get more time on college admission tests such as the SAT and ACT.

Berkeley’s own Disabled Students’ Program says students with psychological disabilities may qualify for accommodations. The school says a student must show a documented disability that limits a major life activity.

“The University is committed to providing equal access to its academic programs through reasonable accommodations,” Berkeley’s program says.

Testerman said he asked Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky whether the law school felt concerned about the numbers or planned to consider reforms.

“The law school complies with the law, and that is all,” Chemerinsky reportedly said.

Testerman said Chemerinsky also accused him of having an agenda.

“Yes, I have an agenda: I want to take fair law school exams,” Testerman wrote.

Supporters of disability accommodations say schools must help students who face real barriers. Federal law also requires schools to provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities.

However, critics say elite schools risk creating a two-tier exam system: some students compete under the normal clock while others get far more time.

That concern grows when most claims involve conditions that colleges often cannot see and when students with more resources may know better how to get documentation.

“Simply put, it is highly improbable,” Testerman wrote.