Reuters, ABA Eyes More Rollbacks to Law School Diversity Rules:

The arm of the ABA that oversees U.S. law schools is poised to further curtail its diversity and inclusion rules in August when it could vote on a pair of proposals that would end requirements for schools to educate students ​about bias, racism, and cross-cultural competency and drastically pare back non-discrimination rules for students and faculty.

The ABA has been ‌under pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration and some state supreme courts to curtail its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, amid a broader administration crackdown on DEI in the legal profession and elsewhere.

The ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar already in May axed a longstanding ​rule requiring law schools to show commitment to diversity in recruitment, admissions, and student programming. That decision came over the objections ​of many legal academics and advocacy groups that warned the change would undermine efforts to diversify the ⁠profession.

The pending proposals have generated fewer public reactions with no clear consensus. During a public comment period that ended Monday, the ​ABA received 15 letters opposing the elimination of the bias training rule and nine in support. The non-discrimination rule proposal yielded 10 comments in favor ​of retaining the requirement and two favoring its elimination.

ABA Journal, Comments Mixed on Proposals to Pull Back Law School Diversity Standards:

“It was never clear what the standard was designed to achieve in student outcomes,” wrote Derek T. Muller, professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School. “After four years, with no real ability to measure or meaningfully evaluated, the standard ought to be repealed.”

The Clinical Legal Education Association disagrees. “This is a time not to retreat but rather to loudly reaffirm what our profession stands for and its commitment to preparing lawyers who will meet the legal needs of a diverse society,” it states in its letter. …

The next council meeting is scheduled for Aug. 20-22. 

Editor’s Note:  If you would like to receive a daily email with links to legal education posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.