New mom will get stop-the-clock breaks to pump breast milk during bar exam
Told there was no procedure for appealing a decision by Illinois bar exam authorities not to provide stop-the-clock breaks when she needed to pump breast milk, Kristin Pagano nonetheless wrote a letter requesting reconsideration.
On Tuesday, that request was unanimously granted by the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar. Pagano will be allowed to take a break of up to 30 minutes during each three-hour segment of the test, which will not be counted against the time she is given to complete the bar exam, reports the Chicago Tribune. A female proctor and access to an appropriate area in which to pump breast milk will also be provided.
Pagano had initially been told she would be provided with a chair to sit on in a family restroom but would not be given any extra time on the test to make up for the breast-pumping breaks. She expects to give birth to her first child in January and take the bar exam in February.
“This, of course, is great news,” Pagano told the newspaper in an email. “I am very happy that the board reviewed my reconsideration request and agreed to provide reasonable accommodations so that I will be able to pump and take the exam.”