Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce’s Post

Eliminating the terms 'race and ethnicity' from the ABA’s law school accreditation rules will hobble longstanding efforts to bring in diverse students and faculty, critics warned in public comments on the proposal. Among the groups opposing a proposed revision of what is currently called the ABA's 'diversity and inclusion' standard are legal education heavyweights including the Law School Admission Council; the Society of American Law Teachers; the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; and a coalition of 44 law school deans. The proposed new standard—renamed the 'access to legal education and the profession' standard—eliminates references to race, ethnicity and gender and instead requires law schools to provide access to 'persons including those with identities that historically have been disadvantaged or excluded from the legal profession.' Read Karen Sloan's report: https://reut.rs/3Nbptoo

"Law schools ranked among the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report saw the largest diversity declines after affirmative action bans, with reductions of 36% to 47%, the study found." (Reuters) https://lnkd.in/gQqTsH3R #diversityinlaw #legaldiversity #lawschoolproblems #lawstudentproblems #legaled

Some post SFFA v. Harvard admissions data at the undergraduate level, and then two media articles that we are quoted in about what’s happening so far at the law school level. For undergraduate, the Harvard class of 2028 is 14% Black, compared with 18% last year, and the share of Hispanic students moved up from 14% to 16%. For law schools, while we have seen numerous law schools submit aggregated diversity data, we have yet to see a single law school report specific/disaggregated diversity numbers. We thinks it’s unlikely this will happen until December, and both Anna Hicks-Jaco and I talk more on why this is in the following two linked articles: https://lnkd.in/dAgKEWHC https://lnkd.in/ddM4rEwm

New research suggests a correlation between the percentage of accommodated students at law schools & lower first-time bar pass rates. This prompts a deeper look into the support and resources provided to accommodated students. #LegalEducation #BarExam #StudentSupport https://loom.ly/W039s0Q

GC's and C-suite executives need to hold their law firms accountable for their demand that law schools enforce a zero tolerance policy for anti-semitism, which you can find below. Hundreds of law firms signed this letter way back in November 2023. The letter and signatories can be found at the link below. Demand to know whether those firms are planning to recruit at Harvard, Penn, Georgetown, Yale and other "top" schools that continue to allow their campuses to provide fertile ground for Jew hate. And to those within law firms themselves, make your voices heard. Silence is complicity. https://lnkd.in/ee4mtP8u

The American Bar Association is aiming to keep references to 'race and ethnicity' in its diversity rules for law schools, following pushback from legal educators who said a proposed revision of the rule that struck those terms could hobble efforts to recruit diverse students and faculty. The ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar on Nov. 8 is slated to consider a second revised version of what is currently called the Diversity and Inclusion standard after an earlier version received widespread criticism for going 'too far' beyond the parameters of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision barring the consideration of race in college admissions, according to a Nov. 1 memo from the committee that drafted the revision. The rule at issue involves how law schools must demonstrate commitment to diversity through recruitment, admissions and programming. The ABA is designated as the national accreditor of law schools by the U.S. Department of Education and it maintains a series of standards that all schools must follow. Karen Sloan has more: https://reut.rs/3NUN25e

21 Republican State Attorneys General have challenged the ABA's Diversity Standard 206, citing the Supreme Court's SFFA ruling. They argue it mandates race-based decisions, conflicting with federal law. In response 19 Democratic State AGs uphold DEI efforts as lawful, crucial for fighting discrimination and promoting diversity. They stress DEI's legality and importance for business success. This clash highlights the evolving legal debate on DEI initiatives. As the situation develops, staying informed and compliant is key. Read more in this client alert from myself, Trina Fairley Barlow, Toni Michelle Jackson, and Derick D. Dailey: #DEI #EducationLaw

"A recent study conducted by law professors from Yale, New York, and Northwestern universities has highlighted a significant decrease in racial diversity among law students, particularly at top-ranked schools, in the aftermath of state-level affirmative action bans over the last 28 years. The findings shed" (Canadian Lawyer) https://lnkd.in/eAuyP8Dx #legaled #lawschoolproblems #diversityandinclusion #lawstudentproblems

Attorneys general from 19 Democratic-led states pledged to help defend the American Bar Association’s requirement that law schools advance diversity goals, after a coalition of Republican-led states attacked the ABA accreditation standard earlier this month. The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling curtailing the consideration of race in college admissions does not extend beyond that narrow context into ABA policies or corporate diversity programs, according to a letter the attorneys general sent to the ABA and Fortune 100 companies. The ABA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The organization has said it is revising its diversity standard and could adopt changes as early as August. Attorneys general from 21 Republican-led states, including Texas, Florida and Virginia, had said in their June 3 letter to the ABA that its accreditation standard requiring law schools to diversify their student bodies, faculty and staff runs afoul of the recent Supreme Court ruling. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g3ZnYWEr #legal #lawschools #diversity