ABA Likely To Extend Suspension Of Diversity Requirement For Law School Accreditation

You don’t have to be an attorney to know that it’s hard to follow the rules when they’re in conflict. For years, the ABA required that law schools had to show some effort in admitting women and other members of historically disenfranchised groups. But after the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action, schools effectively had to choose between being accredited or running afoul of the Blum brigade and Trump’s executive orders. The ABA eased up the burden on law schools by suspending the DEI accreditation requirement near the end of Black History Month.

Really couldn’t have waited until March, huh?

When the suspension was announced, I was openly suspicious of the “temporariness” of the decision. As it stands, that take is aging beautifully. ABA Journal has coverage:

The suspension of ABA accreditation Standard 206, originally titled “Diversity and Inclusion,” should be extended until Aug. 31, 2026, according to a May 2 memo from the standards committee of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.
…
“The council should find that extraordinary circumstances exist in which compliance with Standard 206 will continue to constitute extreme hardship for multiple law schools,” according to the committee’s memo.

Extraordinary is an understatement. The row between Harvard and the Trump administration cost them billions of dollars in future research grants so long as they refuse to kiss the ring. Harvard enjoys a sizeable amount of autonomy given its $53B endowment, but most schools don’t have nearly as much money in their coffers for softening the economic hardship of rebellion. As bad as it would be for the rule of law, acquiescing to whatever Trump demands could be the only way that many schools will be able to keep their doors open. With that in mind, the push to not enforce the diversity standard for a while makes sense.

Continued Suspension Of Diversity Standard Suggested By ABA Legal Ed Committee [ABA Journal]

Earlier: ABA Suspends DEI Accreditation Requirements For Law Schools

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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