Judiciary Committee backs State Bar audit after chaotic February bar exam; applicants describe crashes, proctoring failures

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance SB 47, a bill to require an audit of the State Bar of California’s administration of the February 2025 bar exam, after test takers and legal educators described widespread technical failures, disruptive proctoring and unclear question development.

The bill’s author, Senator Thomas J. Umberg, opened the hearing by telling the panel that SB 47 would “require an audit of the February bar exam by the state auditor” and said the legislature has “an obligation … to protect Californians” by ensuring licensed attorneys are competent.

Four examinees who sat the February exam told the committee they experienced severe disruptions. Andrea Lynch, who identified herself as an exam taker, said proctors repeatedly interrupted her remote session, took control of her mouse without consent and that a software crash cost her roughly 20 minutes of testing time. “As I prepared to begin session 4 … I was met with a message stating, congratulations. Your exam has been submitted to the State Bar of California. My exam had been submitted on my behalf prematurely,” Lynch testified. She said she waited “25 agonizing minutes” and that the incident left her “traumatized.”

Amy Cassini (testifying as Amy Kasuni in the transcript) cited Business and Professions Code section 6046.6 and told the committee the State Bar failed to provide adequate notice to schools after changes to the exam. She described repeated platform crashes, “save pauses” in the essay interface, nonfunctioning cut-and-paste on the performance test and what she called “disastrous” performance-test crashes that left her “completely demoralized.”

Steven Zendejas said he was told his testing mode would change from…