American Bar Association Moves To End DEI Standard

American Bar Association Moves To End DEI Standard

The law school accreditor has buckled under pressure from the Trump administration to cut discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates.

In a Council meeting conducted by the American Bar Association (ABA) last Friday, the accreditor gave final approval to repeal Standard 206, reports Just the News. This standard, which had been suspended since last year, requires law schools with the ABA accreditation to commit to recruiting a “diverse” student body, among other racial requirements.

“A law school shall demonstrate by concrete action a commitment to diversity and inclusion by providing full opportunities for the study of law and entry into the profession by members of underrepresented groups, particularly racial and ethnic minorities, and a commitment to having a student body that is diverse with respect to gender, race, and ethnicity,” reads the standard.

The Council also proposed repealing further policies, such as Standard 303(c), which states that law schools must “provide education to law students on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism.”

The repeal was spurred on by a memo from the ABA’s Standards Committee, which emphasized failure to overturn Standard 206 could place the entire accreditation system in danger.

“Recent developments have led the Standards Committee to conclude that this national system of accreditation — and the Council’s role as an accreditor — would be imminently threatened if
Standard 206 is not repealed,” read the memo.

The ABA’s move follows extensive federal and legal efforts to bring law school accreditation standards into alignment with the 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision ending race-based admissions policies.

The Equal Protection Project (EPP) was among the first organizations to call for revisions to the American Bar Association’s discriminatory standards. In a 2024 letter to ABA Council Chair David Brennan, EPP founder William A. Jacobson proposed revisions to the standard aimed at aligning the policy with the law.

Jacobson wrote that any language giving possible preference to “those with identities that historically have been disadvantaged or excluded from the legal profession” in recruitment efforts should be excluded to achieve “racial neutrality.”

The Trump administration later engaged the ABA in March of last year, threatening legal action if its DEI mandates were not removed. In a letter written by Pam Bondi to the accreditor, in February of last year, the former Attorney General referenced the Supreme Court’s decision to end race-based admissions to deter similar requirements.

“[Standard 206] blatantly violates our nation’s civil rights laws and conflicts with the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College,” wrote Bondi.

“The Department of Justice stands ready to take every action necessary to prevent further abuse.”

The repeal of Standard 206 will now be sent to the ABA’s annual meeting in August, where debates and revisions to the policy will be heard.

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