Major Legal Win: Muslim Student LSAT Score Withheld After She Refused To Remove Hijab

This past September, a Muslim student who wears the hijab wrote her LSAT exam in Vancouver, BC and was told to reveal her ears for security screening.

She declined as it would have required removal of her hijab in front of men and security cameras. The exam proctor did not offer her a private space to do this screening.

Afterwards, the proctor lodged a report against the student to the Law School Administration Council, which withheld her LSAT score pending a long investigation.

If the score was not released in time, the student risked potentially being unable to use it for the upcoming round of law school admissions—a big waste of time and money for her.

NCCM Staff Lawyer Armaan Kassam led representation of the student and demanded a release of her score, compensation, and a review of how the company hosting the exam failed to uphold clear and simple religious accommodations.

In the end, the LSAC responded to our complaints by agreeing to ALL those demands.

No one should be punished after asking for reasonable religious accommodations. We will always be here to stand up for our communities’ rights, and to demand justice and accountability.