ABA Council Tables Tougher Bar Passage Accreditation Standard

Law.com, GRE or LSAT? ABA Council’s Latest Move Could Nix Tests Altogether:

[T]he legal education council voted to table an agenda item dealing with toughening up an accreditation standard regarding bar exam pass rates.

The current ABA rule gives schools up to five years to reach 75 percent passage, while also providing alternatives if they can’t meet the requirement. The proposal would have shortened the time period from five to two years, and deleted alternatives.

The legal education council, which has debated the bar pass standard for years, approved the harder rule last year. But in February, the ABA’s House of Delegates rejected the measure, sending it back to the council. Despite the House’s rejection, the legal education council decided in June it wouldn’t change its proposal. Instead, it conducted a survey to gather information about the House’s concerns.

Friday’s vote could have sent the same measure back to the House for a second vote. Instead, the council decided to reconsider the matter another day.