SAN ANTONIO \u2013 The Texas Supreme Court ruled Texas law schools are no longer required to be accredited by the American Bar Association. <\/p>\n
The ruling was signed by all nine justices of the Texas Supreme Court on Jan. 6.<\/p>\n
The ruling follows the current administration\u2019s push to remove diversity, equity and inclusion from educational settings. A woman shared information about the change in a TikTok<\/a> video with more than 369,000 views.<\/p>\n \u201cThis could mean that if you graduate from a law school in Texas that is no longer ABA accredited, you can\u2019t sit for another state\u2019s bar exam,\u201d the woman said in the video.<\/p>\n While that is a hypothetical for the future, attorney Bobby Barrera said the big change may not have major changes in the long run.<\/p>\n \u201cChange is always difficult, and this is a major change,\u201d Barrera said.<\/p>\n Barrera is a San Antonio attorney who has practiced law for more than 40 years.<\/p>\n \u201cThe American Bar Association, back in the 80s, was a highly significant and relevant force that controlled a lot of aspects of the attorney practice,\u201d Barrera said.<\/p>\n His views on the association have since changed based on the association\u2019s requirements for schools to be accredited.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ABA\u2019s requirements for law school have got less to do with the knowledge of constitution, criminal law, contract law, and they\u2019re moved into an area of social improvement,\u201d Barrera said.<\/p>\n Within the American Bar Association\u2019s 2025-2026 Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools<\/a>, there is a diversity and inclusion section.<\/p>\n The diversity and inclusion section of those standards says it is \u201csuspended\u201d until Aug. 31, 2026. However, in that section, the diversity and inclusion rules state a law school must demonstrate a commitment to diversity by having \u201cmembers of underrepresented groups<\/a>, particularly racial and ethnic minorities, and a commitment to having a student body that is diverse with respect to gender, race, and ethnicity.”<\/p>\n The diversity and inclusion rule applies for faculty and staff of an ABA accredited school as well.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we don\u2019t have the numbers of professors that the ABA says must be multicultural, how do we comply? And so those are the additional costs,\u201d Barrera said, speaking hypothetically on how the diversity and inclusion rule could incur added fees for universities.<\/p>\n St. Mary\u2019s School of Law<\/a> is the only law school in San Antonio. The school declined an interview with KSAT but said they do intend to maintain their ABA accreditation.<\/p>\n According to the ABA Journal, leaders at St. Mary\u2019s School of Law and seven other Texas law schools signed a letter opposing the removal of an ABA accreditation requirement. <\/p>\n The American Bar Association sent KSAT a statement reading, in part:<\/p>\n \u201cFor over 100 years, the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has assisted the state supreme courts and bar admitting authorities in their work to ensure that the lawyers educated and ultimately licensed in America are competent, ethical, and able to provide effective legal services to the public. … We look forward to continuing to work with the Texas Supreme Court \u2014 and all other state supreme courts and bar admitting authorities \u2014 to help preserve the portability of law school degrees throughout the country.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think this issue should modify the plans of a single law student or applicant or lawyer,\u201d Barrera said.<\/p>\n Other states are following in Texas\u2019 lead to remove this accreditation requirement. State supreme courts in Florida, Ohio and Tennessee began reviews of their ABA requirements<\/a> in 2025.<\/p>\n Read also:<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n