by Jaryn Crouson
Future lawyers in Florida are no longer required to attend a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), ending the “highly partisan” organization’s chokehold on universities as the nation’s sole law school accreditor.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled on Jan. 15 that “it is not in Floridians’ best interest for the ABA to be the sole gatekeeper deciding which law school graduates are eligible to sit for the state’s General Bar Examination and become licensed attorneys in Florida.” ABA has been criticized for forcing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices on universities in order for them to maintain recognition, essentially requiring schools to adhere to racial quotas.
While ABA-accredited schools will remain recognized, the ruling opens opportunities for any agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to approve law schools in the state.
“At present, the ABA is the sole programmatic accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education to accredit programs in legal education that lead to the first professional degree in law,” the ruling reads. “The Court acknowledges that additional programmatic accreditors for legal education programs may be recognized in the future and expresses its support for that possibility; this amendment is intended to accommodate that outcome.”
“Under the amended rule, graduatesof ABA-accredited law schools will continue to qualify to sit for thestate’s General Bar Examination, and graduates of law schoolsaccredited by any subsequently recognized programmaticaccreditor will be afforded the same eligibility. The amendment also encompasses law schools accredited byan institutional accrediting agency recognized by the United StatesDepartment of Education to accredit institutions of highereducation and approved by the Court.”
“At the time of theWorkgroup’s research, the department recognized seveninstitutional accrediting agencies to accredit institutions offeringdegree programs, including those leading to the first professionaldegree in law; none of those agencies appeared to have existinglaw-school-specific standards,” the ruling explains.
Earlier in the month, Texas announced its decision to strip the ABA’s authority, and other states have similar plans. The Texas Supreme Court, like Florida, ruled the law school accreditor “should no longer have the final say on whether a law school’s graduates are eligible to sit for the Texas bar exam and become licensed to practice law in Texas.”
In February 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi accused ABA of subjecting law schools and students “to unlawful race and sex discrimination under the guise of ‘diversity’ mandates” by forcing schools to ensure their student and staff bodies are “diverse with respect to gender, race, and ethnicity.” Bondi even suggested its “status as the sole accrediting body of American law schools” could be revoked if it continues its DEI march.
Good move.
The (highly partisan) ABA should not be a gatekeeper for legal education or the legal profession. https://t.co/dtkZlKdAEv
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 15, 2026
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Jaryn Crouson is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
