February 2025 bar exam: audit.

Senator Umberg's legislation directs the California State Auditor to conduct a comprehensive examination of the February 2025 bar exam, focusing on both its administration and the circumstances that led to reported difficulties during the test. The audit will evaluate the State Bar's contracting processes with examination vendors Meazure Learning and Kaplan, Inc., examining whether these agreements followed established protocols and included appropriate oversight mechanisms.

The investigation will assess how the State Bar managed potential examination problems, including venue limitations and equipment requirements. It will analyze differences between the February 2025 remote testing procedures and those used during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as document the decision-making process for offering makeup examination dates. The audit findings must be submitted to the State Bar Board of Trustees, the Supreme Court Chief Justice, and legislative judiciary committees.

The State Bar must fund this audit using existing resources rather than drawing from the State Audit Fund. This requirement maintains the regular biennial performance audits of State Bar operations while adding this focused examination of the February 2025 test administration.