Following up on my previous posts (links below): Richard J. Pierce, Jr. (George Washington), Will the ABA Continue to Accredit Law Schools?, Penn Regulatory Review (Feb. 19, 2025):
On February 14, the new chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Andrew N. Ferguson, announced that political appointees employed by the Commission can no longer be members of the American Bar Association (ABA) and that the Commission will no longer support any employee’s membership in the ABA. The ABA’s position on many major issues is inconsistent with the agenda of the Trump Administration.
At least part of the difference in the views of the ABA and the Trump Administration is attributable to the Trump Administration’s strong distaste for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. ABA Accreditation Standard 206 initially included many references to the duty of law schools to implement DEI programs. …
The FTC action may be just the first step in a Trump Administration effort to strip the ABA of its power. Some of the other likely steps are easy to identify. The U.S. Department of Education supervises all post-secondary educational accreditation organizations. It is also required by law to publish an annual list of all nationally recognized accreditation organizations. The ABA may not appear on that list next year.
Part of the ABA’s power comes from the requirement in most states that an applicant for the state bar must be a graduate of an ABA-accredited law school. No one can practice law in a state unless they are a member of the state’s bar. …
What organization will the Trump Education Department and Republican-controlled states substitute for the ABA as the government-recognized accrediting organization for law schools? There is no heir apparent to the ABA on the right. …
If the Trump Education Department substitutes the new organization for the ABA in the list of nationally recognized accrediting organizations and Republican-controlled states substitute the new organization for the ABA in their state statutes, legislatures in Democrat-controlled states will have to decide how to respond.
Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:
- Josh Blackman (South Texas), Does The FTC's ABA Ban Portend Revocation Of Its Law School Accreditation Power? (Feb. 17, 2025)
- Derek Muller (Notre Dame), The ABA’s Role In Law School Accreditation Is ‘Fairly Secure’ (Feb. 23, 2025)
Editor's Note: If you would like to receive a daily email with links to legal education posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.
