LDF Voices Concern Over American Bar Association’s Proposal to Remove Mentions of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender from Law School Accreditation Standards

Read a PDF of our statement here.

This week, the Legal Defense Fund submitted comments expressing concern about the American Bar Association's (ABA) proposal to remove all mentions of race, ethnicity, and gender from its accreditation standards for law schools. The comment urged the ABA to reverse course on its proposal, and to make clear that it remains committed to ensuring that underrepresented students and faculty have an equal opportunity to access law school and the legal profession. This is especially crucial for Black students pursuing a legal career due to unfair barriers to access resulting from longstanding inequalities.

The ABA cited concerns about compliance with the Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard/University of North Carolina (SFFA) as the rationale behind the proposed changes. However, that decision only barred Harvard and the University of North Carolina from explicitly considering race in their admissions program. The ABA's proposal goes much further than what is required by the SFFA ruling.

LDF's comment makes clear that the ABA's proposed changes are not legally necessary and that the Supreme Court's SFFA decision does not negate or diminish law schools' responsibilities to address discriminatory barriers that disadvantage Black students and faculty.

Changes like the one proposed by the ABA send a harmful message that addressing race and gender bias should no longer be a priority, which will have devastating consequences on the legal profession. Rather than stepping away from commitments to equality, it is imperative that legal educational institutions identify and eliminate discriminatory policies and practices that have led to the current racial disparities we see today.

Read the full letter here.

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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation's first civil rights law organization. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957-although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.