Education Department Moves to Strip ABA of Law School Accreditation Authority

The Department of Education issued a report urging that the American Bar Association be stripped of its federal law-school accreditation role, asserting that the ABA’s Accreditation Council is not sufficiently independent from the larger organization. Critics point to the ABA’s public stances on abortion, transgender workplace policies, and race-based preferences, arguing these positions influence its accreditation standards and clash with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.

Heritage Foundation colleague Zack Smith agreed that the council requires further approvals from the ABA, undermining its claimed separation. The department’s move follows recent state initiatives in Texas, Florida, Alabama, Ohio, and Tennessee to create alternative accreditation routes. Although the ABA has recently repealed a DEI requirement, officials say the underlying concerns remain. If NACIQI adopts the recommendation, only a small number of independent law schools would be directly affected, while most programs could continue under university accreditation.