ABA Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Report on J.D. Distance Education Programs Offered by Council-Approved Law Schools (Feb. 2026):
As of January 2026, twenty-one Council-approved law schools have received acquiescence from the Council pursuant to Standard 105(12)(i) to offer DE programs. In total, these schools operate twenty-two DE programs, with one school offering both a hybrid J.D. program and a fully online J.D. program for part-time learners that will launch this fall. Eighteen1 schools were required to report on the status of their DE program in the 2025 Annual Questionnaire. [Three schools with acquiescence will begin submitting annual reports in the Fall 2026 Annual Questionnaire (Arizona State, University of Detroit-Mercy, and Suffolk University for its fully online part-time program). One law school, Mitchell Hamline University School of Law, operates a Prison to Pipeline distance education program but continues to submit its annual report in narrative format.] However, one school delayed the launch of its program and will submit an annual report for the first time in 2026.
Program Types and Standardized Test Usage
Of the eighteen reporting law schools, twelve schools offer hybrid DE programs and five offer fully online DE programs. While all eighteen schools offer DE programs with part-time tracks, only two offer DE programs with a full-time track.
This year, three law schools enrolled DE students using a JD-Next score and thirteen law schools enrolled DE students using a GRE score. All schools enrolled DE students using an LSAT score. Though the number of schools enrolling students with either a GRE score or JD-Next score increased, the LSAT continues to be the main test relied upon in DE program admissions. …
Admissions – Applications
In the 2024-25 admission cycle, schools reported a total of 13,845 DE applications, up from 9,748 last cycle. The difference represents a 42% overall increase over last year. Every school reported double-digit percentage increases in application volume. …Admissions – Applicant Demographics
Out of 13,845 applications, 6,228 (45.0%) were from applicants reported by the law schools as being people of color. … All but one school reported application counts by race and ethnicity. Among reporting law schools, the percentage of total DE apps represented by each racial and ethnic group was about the same percentage represented by each group of total residential apps, with one exception: the share of total residential apps represented by Asians was nearly twice their share of total DE apps. …First Year Enrollment
In 2025, 1,041 total first year students enrolled in these schools’ DE programs, up 10.9% from last year’s figure of 939. By comparison, 3,482 first years enrolled in these law schools’ residential J.D. programs. One school enrolled more first year DE students than first year residential students. …First Year Students – Academic Profile
A majority of the schools (11) reported higher median LSAT scores for their first year DE program students than for their residential counterparts. Two schools reported the same median for both cohorts. Two schools reported lower median LSAT scores for their first year DE cohorts than for their first year residential cohorts. By contrast, a majority of schools (13) reported lower median undergraduate GPAs for their first year DE cohorts than for their first year residential cohorts. Three schools reported higher median GPAs for their first year DE students.
Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:
- ABA Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Report on J.D. Distance Education Programs Offered by Council-Approved Law Schools (Feb. 2026)
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