Law schools will continue voluntarily adhering to the standard, and the Department of Education will keep stripping the ABA’s accrediting authority
Standard 206 of the ABA never should have been adopted. Law-school deans hurried the measure forward in the wake of George Floyd’s death. There was no evidence this standard was necessary or would actually improve race relations. And now, a little over six years later, the ABA Council has rolled it back in a hastily convened emergency session.
What justification was offered for scrapping the standard? The Council chair avoided addressing the standard’s substance. Instead, the sole stated motive was preservation:
“The council believes that national accreditation of law schools is in the best interests of law students, the legal profession and the public, and we can best serve in this role with continued recognition by state supreme courts and the Department of Education,” said Melissa Hart, the council’s chair, in a statement. “Repealing Standard 206 was necessary to preserve recognition by a growing number of state courts, as well as the department.”
The vote stood 10-6, with one abstention—a real profile in courage.
Will this action have any lasting impact? Probably not. Law schools will still voluntarily comply with the ABA’s former standard through various DEI initiatives. And the Education Department is unlikely to be overly concerned that the rule was repealed under pressure. Nothing prevents the ABA from reimposing the same, or a largely similar, rule in three years.
If only the ABA had listened while there was still a chance. The end is drawing nearer.
