Tennessee joins 3 other states in reconsidering law school accreditation process
Citing the need to address access to justice, the Tennessee Supreme Court is asking for comments on potential reforms for accrediting law schools and admission to the bar, which include reconsidering the ABA’s role in that process.
The state, which has three ABA-accredited law schools, joins Ohio, Texas and Florida in reconsidering the ABA’s role in the law school accreditation process.
Graduation from an ABA-accredited school is mandatory in most states to take the bar exam, but Tennessee rules allow for nonaccredited law schools to petition the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners to allow their graduates to apply for the bar.
The court is asking for input regarding its reliance on ABA accreditation and what alternatives are available. The court is also looking at whether less costly yet adequate alternatives to three-year law schools could be created—and if it should create alternative pathways to licensure, like apprenticeships.
Current requirements restrict “the pool of individuals who may provide legal services in Tennessee” and “limit the supply of legal services and increase their costs,” according to the posted court order.
The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar will be “engaging with the Tennessee Supreme Court to demonstrate how its accreditation standards and recognition of accredited law schools benefit the court, law school graduates and the public by ensuring quality legal education in a cost-effective way that enables law graduates to sit for the bar in any state,” wrote Jennifer L. Rosato Perea, managing director for accreditation and legal education, in a statement.
A separate and independent entity from the ABA, the council is recognized by the Department of Education as the sole accrediting body for U.S. law schools.
The Tennessee Supreme Court’s request follows the Trump administration’s executive order criticizing university accreditors, including the ABA council, for a variety of issues, including diversity, equity and inclusion standards.
“Federal recognition will not be provided to accreditors engaging in unlawful discrimination in violation of federal law,” the April 23 executive order states.
The council suspended Standard 206, focused on diversity, until Aug. 31, 2026.
In July, Ohio formed an advisory committee to review the accreditation process for its law schools.
In March, Florida formed a working group to consider if a JD from an ABA accredited law school would continue to be a bar exam requirement.
Meanwhile, the Texas Supreme Court requested comments about ending its requirement to an ABA-accredited law school before admission to the bar. That generated 392 pages of responses, including one signed by eight Texas law school deans along with the leaders of several law school associations strongly opposed changing the requirement. It states that removing ABA accreditation would hurt graduates’ chances of getting jobs outside of the state, lower law school employment rates and harm the schools’ reputations.
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