Reuters
Feb 23 (Reuters) – The American Bar Association is poised to eliminate its diversity and inclusion requirement for law schools amid legal uncertainty and political pressure.
The arm of the ABA that oversees law school accreditation on Friday advanced a proposal, opens new tab to remove its diversity and inclusion rule altogether, after it was suspended last year. A final decision is expected as soon as May, following a public comment period.
The rule requires law schools to demonstrate their commitment to diversity in recruitment, admissions and student programming. The ABA is designated as the national accreditor of law schools by the U.S. Department of Education and maintains a series of standards that all schools must follow.
The “legal landscape” at both the state and federal level has made compliance with the diversity requirement “challenging,” the committee recommending scrapping the rule said in a memo to the ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar it first circulated in November. The memo noted that other professional accreditors have revoked or indefinitely suspended their diversity rules.
“The uncertain and dynamic environment facing law schools compelled action to ensure the council would not place law schools in the position of believing they had to comply with accreditation requirements that potentially conflict with legal requirements or interpretations of the law,” the memo said.
In a statement, the council said revoking the diversity and inclusion requirement would not prevent law schools from “incorporating the values” of the diversity and inclusion standard, but that compliance would not be required for law schools to maintain their ABA accreditation.
The council suspended enforcement of the diversity and inclusion rule in February 2025, after President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders meant to curtail diversity efforts in the government, the private sector and in higher education.
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