Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has opened a civil investigation into the American Bar Association’s law school accreditation practices, adding a state-level challenge to a broader national debate over who sets standards for legal education.
The investigation will examine whether the ABA’s accreditation requirements have raised the cost of legal education, limited competition among law schools or discouraged alternative approaches to legal training, according to a statement from Paxton’s office reported by Reuters. The attorney general’s office issued a civil investigative demand to the ABA as part of the inquiry.
The ABA has been the federally recognized accreditor of U.S. law schools since 1952. Its Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar accredits law schools, while individual states determine the requirements for admission to their bars.
Texas has already taken steps to reduce the ABA’s role in the state. In January, the Texas Supreme Court approved a state-created system for determining which law schools are approved for purposes of Texas bar admission, making Texas the first state to move away from the ABA’s accreditation requirement for that purpose. A January order said the court intended to preserve the portability of Texas law degrees and did not anticipate immediate changes to the list of approved law schools.
The investigation comes as the ABA’s federal recognition is also under review. Last week, the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, or NACIQI, failed to reach a recommendation on whether the Education Department should renew federal recognition of the ABA’s law-school accrediting council. The Education Department had previously recommended against renewal. The final decision rests with the department’s designated senior official.
The EDU Ledger reported last week that the NACIQI proceedings were part of a broader set of federal actions affecting accreditation, including proposed changes that could make it easier for new accrediting agencies to gain federal recognition. The publication has also previously covered congressional scrutiny of the ABA’s accreditation role and the organization’s diversity-related standards.
The Texas investigation now gives states another role in the ongoing debate over accreditation, competition and the standards governing professional education.
