Reuters, Texas High Court Considers Dropping ABA Accreditation as Requirement to Practice Law:
The Supreme Court of Texas has asked the public to weigh in on whether it should end its requirement that lawyers admitted in the state must graduate from an American Bar Association-accredited law school — following a similar move last month by Florida.
The Texas high court did not stipulate why it is reviewing the ABA requirement — adopted in 1983 — when it issued an administrative order on Friday seeking public comment. A court spokesperson declined to comment, and the ABA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
The move comes as the ABA faces mounting pressure from the Trump administration and other Republicans to end its diversity and inclusion requirement for law schools. All of the Texas Supreme Court justices were appointed by Republican governors.
The Supreme Court of Florida, also composed entirely of Republican-appointed justices, in March appointed a workgroup to study the state's ABA requirement for admission and propose possible alternatives. The court cited both the diversity standard and the “ABA’s active political engagement” as reasons for the inquiry.
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