Florida Justices Study Split from ABA Law School Accreditation

Florida became the first state to signal a potential break from American Bar Association accreditation of law schools Wednesday, attacking the national legal group in a court order over its emphasis on diversity.

Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz’s four-page order called on former Justice Ricky L. Polston to helm a committee, which includes US District Judge Allen C. Winsor, to analyze alternatives to the ABA’s accreditation program.

“Reasonable questions have arisen about the ABA’s accreditation standards on racial and ethnic diversity in law schools and about the ABA’s active political engagement,” the court said in a news release accompanying the order—an extremely rare step for a court that usually lets its orders speak for themselves. “Scholars have also questioned how ABA accreditation requirements affect costs and innovation in legal education.”

Florida is home to one of the largest legal communities in the country and boasts 12 law schools. However, the state’s high court has also been leading the charge against diversity, equity, and inclusion. It has ended diversity training for judges and lawyers, and mandated that the state bar association, which is under its control, will not spend state funds on DEI programming.

The move comes as the US Justice Department is threatening to pull the ABA’s authority to accredit law schools, and President Donald Trump’s order to end federal funding of DEI programming. The ABA receives millions of dollars in federal funding.

The ABA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.