On September 26, 2025, the Supreme Court of Texas issued a momentous order. The Justices likely signaled that the ABA will no longer have the "final say" on accreditation.
After further consideration of the matter, including review of the many helpful comments received, the Court is of the tentative opinion that the ABA should no longer have the final say on whether a law school's graduates are eligible to sit for the Texas bar exam and become licensed to practice law in Texas.
In April, the Supreme Court of Texas requested comments on whether to "reduce or end" the reliance on the American Bar Association's Section on Legal Education. I organized a symposium with the Civitas Institute, offering some contrary viewpoints. I also submitted a comment to the Court. The vast majority of the Deans of Texas Law Schools opposed the change, offering what I thought was a fairly weak defense of the ABA. Kudos to UT Dean Bobby Chesney for not joining the crowd, and offering a nuanced take on the ABA. Apparently, the Supreme Court of Texas did not find all of the other deans persuasive. [Update: Dean Bobby Ahdieh at Texas A&M did not join the letter with the other Texas deans, but also did not submit a public letter of his own to SCOTX.
