{"id":2538983,"date":"2026-01-16T07:08:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T12:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-ends-american-bar-associations-grip-on-law-schools-4\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T07:09:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T12:09:16","slug":"florida-ends-american-bar-associations-grip-on-law-schools-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-ends-american-bar-associations-grip-on-law-schools-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Ends American Bar Association&#8217;s Grip On Law Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fflorida-ends-american-bar-associations-grip-on-law-schools-4%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2538983&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Florida&#8217;s Supreme Court has amended the state&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-ends-american-bar-associations-grip-on-law-schools\/\" title=\"Florida Ends ...s Grip On ...\">bar-admissions rule<\/a> to end the american Bar Association&#8217;s status as the sole accreditor whose graduates are automatically eligible to sit for the Florida bar exam. After a workgroup study and report, the court said the change will allow additional entities to perform accreditation and gatekeeping functions, aiming to expand access to &#8220;high-quality, affordable legal education&#8221; and protect the free exchange of ideas and nondiscrimination. Graduates of currently ABA\u2011accredited schools will remain eligible to take the bar,and law schools may still pursue ABA accreditation if they choose. The move follows a similar decision by the Texas Supreme court and comes as other states (including Ohio and tennessee) weigh reducing the ABA&#8217;s role amid criticisms from some conservatives that the ABA is partisan and exclusionary. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney general James Uthmeier publicly supported reining in the ABA&#8217;s influence.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Flags_of_Florida_in_San_Agust%C3%ADn_(St._Augustine).jpg\">No1CopyEditor\/Wikimedia Commons\/<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/16\/florida-joins-texas-in-ending-american-bar-associations-gatekeeper-grip-on-law-schools\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Florida%20Joins%20Texas%20In%20Ending%20American%20Bar%20Association%E2%80%99s%20%E2%80%98Gatekeeper%E2%80%99%20Grip%20On%20Law%20Schools&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/16\/florida-joins-texas-in-ending-american-bar-associations-gatekeeper-grip-on-law-schools\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Florida%20Joins%20Texas%20In%20Ending%20American%20Bar%20Association%E2%80%99s%20%E2%80%98Gatekeeper%E2%80%99%20Grip%20On%20Law%20Schools&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/16\/florida-joins-texas-in-ending-american-bar-associations-gatekeeper-grip-on-law-schools\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/16\/florida-joins-texas-in-ending-american-bar-associations-gatekeeper-grip-on-law-schools\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Florida%20Joins%20Texas%20In%20Ending%20American%20Bar%20Association%E2%80%99s%20%E2%80%98Gatekeeper%E2%80%99%20Grip%20On%20Law%20Schools&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/16\/florida-joins-texas-in-ending-american-bar-associations-gatekeeper-grip-on-law-schools\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>In a major step toward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-ends-american-bar-associations-grip-on-law-schools-2\/\" title=\"Florida Ends ...s Grip On ...\">greater ideological freedom<\/a> in the legal profession, the state of Florida ended the left-wing American Bar Association&rsquo;s (ABA) dominance over its law schools on Thursday. <\/p>\n<p>In its <a href=\"https:\/\/flcourts-media.flcourts.gov\/content\/download\/2483731\/opinion\/Opinion_SC2025-2064.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nine-page order<\/a>, the Florida Supreme Court revealed that it has amended the state&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >bar admissions rule &#038;ldquo<\/a>;to end the rule&rsquo;s reliance on the American Bar Association (ABA) as the sole accrediting agency for law schools whose graduates are eligible to sit for this state&rsquo;s General Bar Examination.&rdquo; (Lawyers are required to pass the bar exam to practice law in each state.)<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1964286501\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As noted in its order, the Florida Supreme Court appointed a &ldquo;workgroup to study this issue&rdquo; in March 2025, with the group submitting a final report later that year in October. The Sunshine State&rsquo;s high court approved the rule changes last month, culminating in the release of Thursday&rsquo;s directive. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Based on its independent study and its consideration of the workgroup&rsquo;s report, the Court is persuaded that it is not in Floridians&rsquo; best interest for the ABA to be the sole gatekeeper deciding which law schools&rsquo; graduates are eligible to sit for the state&rsquo;s General Bar Examination and become licensed attorneys in Florida,&rdquo; the court wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The Florida justices contended that the new rules &ldquo;create the opportunity for additional entities to carry out an accrediting and gatekeeping function on behalf of the Court.&rdquo; They further argued that in adopting such changes, the court is seeking to &ldquo;promote access to high-quality, affordable legal education in law schools that are committed to the free exchange of ideas and to the principle of nondiscrimination.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Those graduating from current ABA-accredited institutions will remain eligible to take the bar exam, and law schools will still be permitted to seek ABA accreditation should they choose to do so, according to the court. <\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist&rsquo;s Joy Pullmann previously&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/10\/the-trump-admin-and-all-republican-states-should-ditch-the-american-bar-association\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, the ABA regularly &ldquo;advocates for and engages in unlawful racial and sexual discrimination and is a highly partisan actor on behalf of the Democrat Party and other anti-Constitution activists.&rdquo; The organization, she noted, &ldquo;deeply affects the U.S. lawyer pipeline and licensing system, accrediting law schools, rating judges, and weaponizing lawyer discipline.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Its rabid leftism means the ABA systematically ratchets the entire U.S. legal system against the U.S. Constitution,&rdquo; Pullmann added.<\/p>\n<p>The group&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ship-drifting-further-from-shore-ag-association-fails-to-quell-concerns-over-left-wing-partisanship\/\" title=\"\u2018Ship Drifting Further From Shore\u2019: AG Association Fails to Quell Concerns Over Left-Wing Partisanship\">left-wing partisanship<\/a> was an issue raised by Florida Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfpublic.org\/education\/2026-01-08\/gov-desantis-proposes-a-new-accreditor-for-florida-law-schools-following-texas-lead\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ron DeSantis<\/a> and Attorney General <a href=\"https:\/\/floridaphoenix.com\/2025\/11\/06\/uthmeier-accuses-aba-of-discriminating-against-catholic-law-school\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">James Uthmeier<\/a> leading up to Thursday&rsquo;s announcement. The former said during a public event last week that the ABA &ldquo;should not play a central role in legal education or the legal profession.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The ABA&rsquo;s role as a &ldquo;gatekeeper&rdquo; of American law schools is not a concern only in Florida, however.<\/p>\n<p>The Texas Supreme Court announced last week that it is <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/01\/07\/texas-squashes-left-wing-american-bar-associations-monopoly-on-law-school-accreditation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ending<\/a> the organization&rsquo;s monopoly over the Lone Star State&rsquo;s law schools. Similar to their Florida counterparts, the Texas justices declared &ldquo;that the ABA should no longer have the final say on whether a law school&rsquo;s graduates are eligible to sit for the Texas bar exam and become licensed to practice law in Texas.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Ohio and Tennessee are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/litigation\/tennessee-joins-states-eying-end-abas-role-law-school-accreditation-2025-09-17\/#:~:text=A%20handful%20of%20states%20in,Reporting%20by%20Karen%20Sloan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> among other states considering whether to ditch the ABA&rsquo;s dominance in law school accreditation. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/accreditation\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">accreditation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/american-bar-association\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">American Bar Association<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/florida\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Florida<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/florida-supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Florida Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/james-uthmeier\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">James Uthmeier<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/law\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Law<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/law-schools\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Law Schools<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/lawfare\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">lawfare<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ron-desantis\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Ron DeSantis<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida ends ABA control over law schools<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2538984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Florida.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[51531,71115,5113,71114,71116],"class_list":["post-2538983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-aba","tag-accreditation","tag-florida","tag-law-schools","tag-legal-education"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Florida.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2538983"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2538987,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538983\/revisions\/2538987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2538984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2538983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2538983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2538983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}