Overview
- The Education Department began the formal process to withdraw recognition from the American Bar Association on Friday, August 21, 2026, launching a two‑step review officials say will take several months to complete.
- The department’s 500‑page report concluded the ABA’s accreditation arm is not sufficiently independent and warned that accreditors can inject political preferences into accreditation decisions.
- David Barker, the department’s assistant secretary, said accreditation can operate “like a cartel,” a charge the ABA rejects as its Accreditation Council says it complies with federal law and standards.
- Watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust urged the advisory panel NACIQI and Education Secretary Linda McMahon to deny the ABA’s renewal, citing ABA standards that critics say enforced DEI hiring and curricular requirements.
- If the ABA loses recognition, law schools could lose access to federal student aid and some graduates may become ineligible for state bar exams, a shift that state moves in Florida, Texas and Alabama already signal could fragment national accreditation rules.