Following upon my previous posts (links below): Reuters, ABA Walks Back Plan to Remove 'Race and Ethnicity' From Law School Diversity Rules:
The American Bar Association is aiming to keep references to “race and ethnicity” in its diversity rules for law schools, following pushback from legal educators who said a proposed revision of the rule that struck those terms could hobble efforts to recruit diverse students and faculty.
The ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar on Friday is slated to consider a second revised version of what is currently called the Diversity and Inclusion standard after an earlier version received widespread criticism for going “too far” beyond the parameters of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision barring the consideration of race in college admissions, according to a Nov. 1 memo from the committee that drafted the revision.
The rule at issue involves how law schools must demonstrate commitment to diversity through recruitment, admissions and programming. The ABA is designated as the national accreditor of law schools by the U.S. Department of Education and it maintains a series of standards that all schools must follow.
The ABA began reviewing the existing diversity and inclusion standard last year to ensure it complied with the court’s ruling. After the organization circulated its first revision, many commenters felt “the revisions would hurt diversity and send a negative message about the importance of diversity,” reads the memo explaining the latest proposal.
The back-and-forth over the ABA’s diversity standard, which would be renamed the Access to Legal Education and the Profession standard under both proposals, illustrates the complexities that colleges, admissions offices, and accrediting bodies are navigating following the court’s decision.
Bloomberg Law, ABA Proposes New Changes to Diversity Rules for Law Schools:
The American Bar Association is tinkering with more changes to diversity, equity and inclusion-specific language standards for law schools, according to a Friday ABA memo.
The ABA body that accredits law schools changed its course after public comments critiqued its previous revision proposal would “send a negative message about the importance of diversity,” the memo said.
“In light of the comments received, the Standards Committee recommends further revisions to Standard 206 to make it clear that the Council is not abandoning the value of diversity and inclusion,” the committee said in the memo.
Law360, ABA Tweaks Planned Changes To Law School Diversity Rules
Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:
- ABA May Revise Diversity Accreditation Standard To Increase 'Identity Characteristics' From Three (Gender, Race & Ethnicity) To 14 (Feb. 26, 2024)
- 21 State AGs Urge ABA To Remove Race-Based Criteria From Law School Accreditation (June 5, 2024)
- 19 State AGs Refute Effort By 21 State AGs To Eliminate ABA's Race-Based Accreditation Standard (June 21, 2024)
- ABA Legal Ed Council To Vote In August On Proposed Revisions To Diversity Accreditation Standard (July 1, 2024)
- In Response To Criticism, ABA Legal Ed Council Changes Proposed Accreditation Standards On Diversity, Rights Of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty (Aug. 19, 2024)
- ABA Law School Accreditation News (Aug. 29, 2024)
- Critics Say Cutting 'Race And Ethnicity' From ABA Law School Diversity Accreditation Standard Goes Too Far (Oct. 3, 2024)
- More Commentary On The ABA's Proposed Changes To Law School Diversity Accreditation Standard (Oct. 9, 2024)
- The ABA's Shift From Diversity Mandate To ‘Holistic’ Admissions Is Backdoor To Racial Preferences (Oct. 21, 2024)
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