American Bar Association Deals Major Blow to DEI in Sweeping Change to Law Schools Across the Country
The American Bar Association (ABA), which accredits U.S. law schools, has voted to move away from a DEI-related accreditation requirement that had been in place for decades. The change reverses an obligation for schools to increase enrollment of women and racial minorities, though it won’t take official effect until the ABA’s House of Delegates considers it in early August (with formal changes possibly not finalized until 2027).
Reuters and Bloomberg Law report that the ABA plans to replace demographic-category language with guidance aimed at compliance with federal, state, and local laws that prohibit racial discrimination. The shift follows actions in the Trump governance discouraging DEI, along with criticism of the ABA’s role as an accreditor and claims that the organization is influenced by Democratic politics.
The article also notes that some states are reducing reliance on ABA accreditation: for example, Florida and Texas courts have made moves that allow or recognize alternatives to ABA accreditation for bar eligibility and accreditation authority. An ABA council member quoted agrees that removing the DEI standard could allow more adaptability while helping avoid inhibiting diversity of perspectives in different legal education environments.
The council of the American Bar Association, which oversees law school accreditation in the United States, moved to scrap a rule forcing colleges to support diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Reuters reported that the move, which occurred on Friday, reversed a decades-old requirement that law schools increase the number of women and racial minorities attending their institutions.
The rule will not officially change until the ABA’s House of Delegates weighs the pivot in early August.
The requirement may not be altered formally until 2027.
Reuters noted that the rule was suspended in February 2025, one month after President Donald Trump assumed office for a second time.
Trump swiftly moved to discourage DEI within federal agencies and organizations receiving federal funds.
Bloomberg Law reported that the ABA will now replace lists of demographic categories with direction toward laws on the federal, state, and local level banning racial discrimination.
The organization is seeking to “simplify the requirements and reduce burden on law schools.”
The Trump administration has questioned the role of the ABA in serving as the accreditor for JD degree programs on behalf of the federal government, partially because of the DEI policy and other perceived ideological bias.
Now-former Attorney General Pam Bondi pressed the ABA council last year to end DEI requirements, or else risk losing its accrediting abilities.
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in March that the ABA is “effectively” a branch of the Democratic Party.
“I find it, in a federal system, extraordinarily strange that we have one single national organization, effectively run out of Washington and New York, decide what it takes to be a good lawyer in Texas, or decide what it takes to be a good lawyer in Florida or Tennessee,” Ferguson commented.
Some states have indeed questioned the role of the ABA as a gatekeeper in enabling their residents to serve as attorneys.
Bloomberg Law noted that the Florida Supreme Court decided in January that students from non-accredited schools can possibly sit for the bar exam.
The Texas Supreme Court likewise approved a rule setting itself as the organization in charge of accreditation in the state, ending Texas’ reliance on the ABA.
David Brennen, a council member of the ABA and a former dean of the University of Kentucky College of Law, told Reuters that he personally agrees with the DEI standard, but believes law schools should have more flexibility.
“I think it’s appropriate as an accrediting body that we eliminate that standard so we don’t inhibit the diversity of ideas out there in various types of legal education environments,” Brennen remarked.
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