The U.S. Department of Education moved on Friday to end the American Bar Association’s (ABA) status as the federally recognized accreditor of U.S. law schools. In a staff report, the department concluded that the ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar does not maintain the required independence from its parent organization.
The ABA has served as the official government overseer for law schools since 1952. This action follows an April 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to evaluate the ABA’s role, specifically citing concerns over the organization's "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI) requirements for schools.
The Education Department's report also stated that the ABA had been too slow to modify its rules regarding diversity standards. While the ABA's policymaking body recently voted against removing a DEI rule, the legal education council was reportedly planning to strip the rule during a scheduled meeting this past Friday. Melissa Hart, chairperson of the legal education council, said the group is confident it can address the department's concerns during upcoming meetings.
The scale of the impact involves the entire U.S. law school system, which the ABA has overseen for 74 years. While the exact number of students who would lose loan access was not reported, the change would affect anyone relying on federal aid to cover the cost of a three-year legal education, which often exceeds $150,000 in total debt. The disruption would also affect state bar examiners and the judicial systems that rely on the ABA's standards to verify the qualifications of new lawyers.
A bipartisan accreditation advisory committee is scheduled to review the Education Department’s recommendation in September. The ABA’s legal education council stated it will use that meeting to clarify the record and address what it described as misconceptions. A final decision on whether to revoke the ABA’s status is expected to take several months, meaning the current accreditation system remains in place for students starting the upcoming academic cycle. The outcome will determine whether a new accrediting body must be established or if law schools must seek oversight from different entities to maintain their federal funding and licensing eligibility.