North Carolina law students who purchased one of Apple's new MacBook Pro models that include a Touch Bar will need to disable the feature to be able to use their MacBooks on the upcoming 2017 Bar Examination, according to a new notice put out today by the Board of Law Examiners of the State of North Carolina.
According to the notice, applicants will need to disable the Touch Bar through the System Preferences menu for their computers to be usable during the test.
This is a notice for all applicants who will be using their laptop at the February 2017 North Carolina Bar Examination. If you are planning to use the newest version of the Mac Book Pro with Touch Bar, you will be required to disable the Touch Bar feature prior to entry into the Bar Examination Site.
To disable the Touch Bar:
From the Dock, open System Preferences, then double-click Keyboard, then open the drop-down menu for "Touch Bar Shows," and select Expanded Control Strip.
Please be advised that the Announcing Proctor will make an announcement at the start of the exam session asking anyone who is using a Mac Book Pro with Touch Bar to raise their hand so that a proctor or ExamSoft technician can come to their seat and ensure that the Touch Bar has been disabled.
The notice doesn't include the reason why the Touch Bar has been banned, but in a statement, a board staff member said that it has the potential to compromise security, perhaps leading to cheating.
Software is already used to disable internet access, apps, and files, but there may be fears that the Touch Bar could be used to bypass existing restrictions, so it will need to be turned off for the duration of the test.
Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums