Tennessee Leads 21-State Push for Non-Discriminatory ABA Law School Accreditation.
Tennessee is spearheading a coalition of 21 states in an effort to eliminate race-based criteria from the American Bar Association’s (ABA) accreditation process for law schools. The ABA serves as the accrediting body for law schools in the United States and has a current rule that may be revised, prompting concerns from state attorneys general who argue it forces law schools to consider race in both admissions and employment contexts.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti penned a letter requesting changes to the ABA’s accreditation standards. The letter was signed by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
The letter references the recent Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College. This decision disallows race-based discrimination in admissions processes. The rule of law cannot long survive if the organization that accredits legal education requires every American law school to ignore the Constitution and civil rights law,” Skrmetti stated in a press release.
Skrmetti added, “The American Bar Association has long pursued the high calling of promoting respect for the law and the integrity of the legal profession, and we call on the organization to recommit to those ideals and ensure that its standards for law schools comport with federal law.
The letter also emphasizes that well-intentioned racial discrimination is treated similarly to malicious discrimination. If the standards continue to insist on treating students and faculty differently based on the color of their skin, they will burden every law school in America with punitive civil rights litigation,” Skrmetti explained.
The 21-state coalition’s push for race-neutral law school accreditation seeks to ensure that both the ABA and law schools adhere to federal laws prohibiting race-based discrimination, thereby upholding the principles of equal opportunity and fairness within legal education institutions across the nation.
