Yesterday, the Texas Supreme Court issued an order “finalizing a tentative September opinion, asserting the ABA should ‘no longer have the final say’ on which law school graduates can take the bar exam — a requirement to becoming a licensed lawyer in each state.” Toluwani Osibamowo, Texas Becomes First State to End American Bar Association Oversight of Law Schools, KERA News, January 6, 2026.

The change means law school graduates who want to practice in Texas are no longer required to attend an ABA-accredited school. The power to approve those law schools now rests solely with the state’s highest civil court.

In the absence of national guidance, however, the Texas Supreme Court stipulated in Tuesday’s order that it intends to preserve graduates’ ability to use Texas law school degrees in other states and out-of-state law degrees in Texas. The court also doesn’t anticipate immediate changes to the current list of approved law schools and could return to relying on a different multi-state accrediting entity in the future.

For additional coverage, see Stephanie Gleason, Texas Supreme Court Takes Over Law School Accreditation From ABA, Bloomberg Law, January 6, 2026; Lynn LaRowe, Texas Justices Erase ABA Approval In Bar Admissions, Law360, January 6, 2026.