21 State AGs Urge ABA To Remove Race-Based Criteria From Law School Accreditation

National Law Journal, 21 State AGs Urge ABA to Remove Race-Based Criteria from Law School Accreditation:

Twenty-one state attorneys general have banded together to urge the American Bar Association to remove race-based criteria from its law school accreditation process.

The group, led by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, sent a letter Monday to the ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, The Lion first reported Tuesday.

According to the letter’s signatories, the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA) “changed the constitutional landscape when it comes to the consideration of race in higher education,” which, the letter asserts, “requires significant adjustments to your current Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools.”

Along with Tennessee, attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Virginia signed the letter.

The letter highlighted concerns with ABA Standard 206, which governs diversity and inclusion within law schools, saying the current standard “seemingly asks law schools to defy the Court’s clear directive” and “all but compels law schools to consider race in both the admissions and employment contexts.”

• ABA Journal, 21 State AGs Sign Letter Demanding Changes to ABA Diversity Standard For Law Schools
• Bloomberg Law, State AGs Warn Bar That Its Law School DEI Rules Are Illegal