Law school diversity dips after Trump administration orders, new ABA study finds
After executive orders from President Donald Trump’s administration targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education, the number of minority students in this year’s 1L class dipped slightly from the year before, according to the 2025 Standard 509 Information Report data overview.
In fall 2025, Black students accounted for 7.6% of incoming JD students, compared with 7.7% last year; while Hispanic students made up 13.9%, down from 14.2% in 2024, according to the annual report from the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. The report, released Monday, is based on information from the 196 ABA-accredited law schools.
In January, Trump signed an executive order mandating the dismantling of DEI efforts; and in April, the U.S. Department of Education demanded that academic institutions eliminate DEI polices or risk federal funding cuts.
The report also shows growth in non-JD programs outpaced JD programs. In fall 2025, 25,077 law students were enrolled in non-JD programs, such as LLMs, master’s and certificate programs, up from 23,583, or 6.3%, compared to the previous year; while JD enrollment hit 120,039, up 4,629 students, or 4%, from 2024.
Total law school enrollment increased by 6,123 students to 145,116, up 4.4% from a year earlier; and this fall, 42,817 students entered their 1L year, an increase of 3,128 students, or 7.9%, from the 2024 reporting cycle, the report says.
Women comprise 55.1% of the incoming class, down 1 percentage point from last year, while men make up 42.5%, down a half a percentage point. This year, 1% claimed another gender identity, the same as last year, while 1.4% preferred not to respond, up from 0.9% a year earlier.
The section’s council is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the national accrediting agency for JD programs. The section and its governing council operate for accreditation purposes as independent arms of the ABA.
“One of the council’s core principles of accreditation is to ensure that applicants and the public receive comprehensive and accurate information about law schools,” said Jennifer Rosato Perea, managing director of ABA accreditation and legal education, in a release.
Data on bar passage statistics are expected to be released in February, according to the release, and employment outcomes for the class of 2025 measuring law graduate employment about 10 months after spring graduation are expected in April 2026.
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