The ABA has been trying to slow Standard 206’s bleeding since the Court handed down SFFA v. Harvard. In short, the standard held that law schools had to take concrete actions showing a commitment to diversity by providing full opportunities to study the law and enter the profession to underrepresented groups. If they didn’t, the school’s accreditation could be in jeopardy. The ABA suspended the standard right at the end of Black History Month last year and spent the interim time promising that they weren’t retreating from diversity despite all the evidence to the contrary. Though their good gesture move of extending the moratorium didn’t really do anything, the barely breathing Standard still got played for culture war fodder. The FTC made the ridiculous argument that demanding diversity was making law school expensive, meanwhile Texas, Florida, and Tennessee used 206 as an excuse to break off from ABA accreditation entirely. A year later, we close Black History Month with the ABA proposing a repeal of Section 206. Law.com has coverage:
Following an emotional discussion about the future of the American Bar Association’s accreditation standard that governs diversity and inclusion requirements in law school admissions, the ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has decided to advance a proposal to repeal the standard.
The council voted Friday to send a proposed repeal of the standard out for notice and comment and extend the current suspension of Standard 206 until Aug. 31, 2027.
Emotions be damned: if you’re going to get rid of it, just get rid of it. If you want to keep it on the books to spite the administration, fine, but do it and stand firm for something. Stand on your principles, suffer the consequences, and hope that fate smiles on you as it did Costco. But this slow dance of “it breaks my heart to do this” and “schools need clear rules to operate” muddies values and benefits no one. And let’s be honest. Pushing the decision off until next year is not that much better.
ABA Weighing Repeal of Law School Diversity Standard [Law.com]
ABA Diversity And Inclusion Standard Looks Like It’s On Its Last Legs
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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