In light of conversations around ABA-accreditation, U.S. News released on Monday their latest post on unaccredited law schools. Gabriel Kuris, Unaccredited Law Schools: Pros and Cons, December 8, 2025. Those interested may also find this August 2025 report from the California State Bar useful, which describes enrollments, attrition rates, tuition costs, bar pass rates, and other information at 30 California accredited and unaccredited (i.e., non-ABA accredited) law schools from 2022 to 2024. The State Bar of California, 2024 California Accredited and Unaccredited Law School Performance Report, August 22, 2025.
While in recent years, approximately 2400-2600 enroll in California-accredited and unaccredited law schools each year (e.g., 2433 in 2024), only 600-700 graduate each year (e.g., 645 in 2024). Total enrollment for all CA-accredited and unaccredited schools reached a high in 2024 of 5442. According to the State Bar’s report, first-year total attrition rates for unaccredited law schools in California was 61% in 2024 (48% in 2023), and second-year total attrition for unaccredited schools was 27% in 2024 (36% in 2023). First-time taker July California Bar Exam pass rates for California-accredited schools over three years ranged from 33% to 36% (overall pass rates from 21% to 24%), while first-time taker July California Bar Exam pass rates for unaccredited law schools in California over three years range from 13% to 24% (overall pass rates from 9% to 13%).
From the U.S. News post.
When Americans talk about law school, they generally mean one of the nearly 200 law schools accredited by the American Bar Association, which is the national organization of the legal profession. Any graduate of one of these law schools who has met the eligibility requirements may sit for the bar examination in any state.
It’s possible for law schools to operate without ABA accreditation, however. More than 30 law schools in the U.S. and a few more international law schools overseas provide a legal education without ABA accreditation. Most are based in California, where graduates of nonaccredited law schools can take the bar exam and qualify as lawyers. A few other states, such as Alabama, also permit graduates of certain unaccredited law schools to take the bar.
Recently, states including Texas, Florida, Tennessee and Ohio have debated developing their own accreditation standards in place of the ABA. However, law schools in their states would still be likely to continue to maintain ABA accreditation so that their graduates could qualify for the bar in other states.
