Florida in February will again hold its bar exam remotely to avoid exposing test-takers to the coronavirus, the state’s Supreme Court announced Wednesday as cases spiked in the state.
The court didn’t want to risk canceling an in-person test as it did in July amid a worrisome increase in Covid-19 cases. The seven-day moving average of new cases in Florida on Tuesday reached its highest level since mid-August, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“This decision is based on current COVID-19 infection rates, which are rising in almost every U.S. Jurisdiction,” court officials said in a statement. “Based on that current trend, and with the future trend of COVID-19 infection rates in Florida being uncertain, any plans to have an in-person administration in February 2021 would have been at risk of cancellation depending on the pandemic conditions in early 2021.”
The exam will be Feb. 23 and Feb. 24. Applicants must download required software and have a webcam and internet connection.
Florida scheduled an online exam in August and then delayed until October over technology concerns. Over 3,100 applicants took the bar exam remotely Oct. 13 and Oct. 14, court officials said.
The Florida Supreme Court shot down proposals that would have allowed recent law school graduates to substitute training in place of the bar exam.
The court said in August that recent law school graduates meeting certain requirements can practice law on a temporary basis, under supervision, for 30 days after the results of the February 2021 bar exam are released.
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