Following up on last week's post, Critics Say Cutting 'Race And Ethnicity' From ABA Law School Diversity Accreditation Standard Goes Too Far: Brian Leiter (Chicago), Opposition to ABA's Proposal to Revamp its "Diversity and Inclusion" Standards in the Wake of SCOTUS Decision in SFFA:
A letter from 44 Deans can be seen here. They argue that, "Nothing in the Court's ruling [in SFFA] precludes schools from continuing to pursue diversity as an objective. Rather, the Court limited the means that may be used. The Court did not prohibit schools — or the American Bar Association — from pursuing the goal of a diverse student body and a diverse faculty." This is a plausible, but it seems to me optimistic, reading of the import of the SFFA decision. Given the current composition of SCOTUS, I will be surprised if, when asked to clarify this import, this reading will be vindicated.
ABA Journal, Changes to ABA Accreditation Standard Addressing Race and Diversity Meet Pushback:
Contentious proposed changes to the ABA’s diversity and inclusion standard go too far and could reverse progress made toward making law schools diverse, according to several legal education groups that wrote to the council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.
In public comments that closed Sept. 30 on the council’s proposed changes of Standard 206, a group of 44 law school deans; the ABA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Center; the Law School Admission Council; the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Society of American Law Teachers protested the changes prompted by last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled against affirmative action policies.
Not all commenters disagreed with the intention of the changes, including the Ohio State Bar Association, which “supports the American Bar Association’s efforts to comply” with the Supreme Court decision “while continuing the effort to increase access to the legal profession for all persons, including those that have been historically underrepresented.”
Law.com, Coalition of AGs Support Updates to ABA's Legal Education Diversity Standard:
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is leading a coalition of several other states that have announced their support for a proposed revision to the American Bar Association's accreditation standards for law schools, according to a statement released Monday.
Attorneys general from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington joined Raoul to support the amended standard requiring schools continue to improve access to legal education and the legal profession for all qualified aspiring lawyers.
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