Education Department Takes First Step to Revoke Recognition of Law-Schools Accreditor

U.S. Department of Education staff have recommended that the Department deny continued federal recognition to the American Bar Association’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, which accredits nearly 200 law schools. The Department’s review found that the accrediting council failed to meet more than two dozen federal recognition criteria, including concerns that it is not sufficiently independent from the ABA’s professional organization; the ABA maintains that its accrediting council complies with federal requirements. The recommendation is not a final decision: the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity is scheduled to consider the ABA’s recognition application on September 23, after which Department officials will make the final determination. Loss of recognition would have the most direct Title IV implications for the relatively small number of freestanding law schools that rely on ABA accreditation for federal student aid eligibility, but the action could have broader implications for legal education and the administration’s efforts to reshape federal accreditation policy.