Madison Watts, Policy Associate, and Joel Chanvisanuruk, Senior Director, Programs for Academic and Bar Success for AccessLex look at “How State Anti-DEI Policies and Initiatives Impact Legal Education.” It begins with a scene that could have taken place at any one of many law schools:

“As law students cross the stage, faculty and deans place the traditional graduation hood on their shoulders to mark their achievement. For many students, representing their unique and personal journey as an underrepresented law student is honored with additional markers like a kente cloth stole, Black Law Student Association (BLSA) cords, or another culturally-based organization’s stole. These symbols recognize the identity that would have barred them from attaining a law degree in many states less than 70 years ago. Today, legislation in several states makes it risky for schools to permit their law students to wear symbols that mark their identity if that identity is classified as diverse.”

These traditions bring pride, celebration, and recognition of accomplishment. Will they become things of the past?

In the view of the authors, the future of legal education may be at stake in the 2026 elections:

“Because state leaders will continue to play an increasingly vital role in higher education governance, the 2026 gubernatorial and legislative races offer a meaningful policy and advocacy window for shaping graduate and legal education. For law school staff, faculty, and students, this moment presents an opportunity to engage more intentionally in state policy conversations, elevate evidence on student outcomes and workforce, and advance legal education as a bipartisan priority that works best when diverse perspectives are not only present, but encouraged.”

Food for thought given the political world in which we live.