Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti led a coalition of 20 other state attorneys general in sending a letter to the Council of the American Bar Association (ABA) on Monday demanding that it make changes to its accreditation process to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative in the case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
Last year, the Supreme Court determined that affirmative action violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, overruling a 2003 opinion that race could be a determining factor in the college admissions process.
Despite the ruling, ABA continues to require law schools to treat students and faculty differently based on race per its policy set out in Standard 206 of its Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools 2023–2024.
The Standard reads, in full:
(a) Consistent with sound legal education policy and the Standards, 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.
(b) Consistent with sound educational policy and the Standards, a law school shall demonstrate by concrete action a commitment to diversity and inclusion by having a faculty and staff that are diverse with respect to gender, race, and ethnicity.
While the ABA is reportedly considering revisions to its police in light of the ruling, its proposed changes “continue to include the unlawful requirement that law schools engage in race-based admissions and hiring,” according to Skrmetti’s office.
“We urge the Council to modify its standards in a way that comports with federal law and with the ABA’s purported commitment to set the legal and ethical foundation for the nation,” the coalition of attorneys general wrote.
“The bottom line: Whatever the intent behind Standard 206 might be, it cannot lawfully be implemented in its current or revised forms. The Supreme Court has made clear that well-intentioned racial discrimination is just as illegal as invidious Discrimination,” the coalition added. “We thus urge the Council to bring Standard 206 in line with federal law’s prohibition of race-based admissions and hiring. Doing so will provide much-needed clarity for the law-school administrators who work hard to train future members of our profession.”
Skrmetti, in a separate statement, added, “The rule of law cannot long survive if the organization that accredits legal education requires every American law school to ignore the Constitution and civil rights law.”
“The American Bar Association has long pursued the high calling of promoting respect for the law and the integrity of the legal profession, and we call on the organization to recommit to those ideals and ensure that its standards for law schools comport with federal law. If the standards continue to insist on treating students and faculty differently based on the color of their skin, they will burden every law school in America with punitive civil rights litigation,” Skrmetti added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “A.G. Jonathan Skrmetti” by A.G. Jonathan Skrmetti.
