Justice Department Targets ABA for Law School Diversity Rule (1)

The Justice Department is urging the American Bar Association to scrap diversity requirements for law schools or risk losing its accrediting power.

The ABA “has subjected law faculties and law students to unlawful race and sex discrimination under the guise of ‘diversity’ mandates,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a Feb. 28 letter to the organization. “That policy must be repealed immediately.”

The ABA last month said it would temporarily suspend enforcement of a rule requiring law schools to diversify faculty and student populations. The organization has been considering updates to the rule that would force schools to “demonstrate by concrete actions” a commitment to diversity and inclusion.

“Standard 206, which the Attorney General references in her letter, is currently suspended and not being enforced,” Jennifer Rosato Perea, managing director of ABA accreditation and legal education, said in a statement. “The Council has been working on revisions to Standard 206 to ensure it adheres to the current law. Any changes to the standard will be taken up by the Council at its next meeting in May and, in the meantime, the Standard remains suspended.”

Chad Mizelle, DOJ’s chief of staff, made the letter public Wednesday in a post on X. It was addressed to an ABA council on legal education and admissions to the bar.

“The Council’s status as the sole accrediting body of American law schools is a privilege, and mandatory diversity objectives are an abuse of that privilege, which is subject to revocation,” Bondi said in the letter. “The Department of Justice stands ready to take every action necessary to prevent further abuse.”