Court opens door to new law school accreditors for Bar admission
The rule changes specify that any new accrediting agency must be recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and approved by the court, which has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate admission to the Bar according to Florida’s Constitution.
The Florida Supreme Court on January 15 amended admissions rules to eliminate the ABA as the sole law school accreditor for Florida Bar eligibility, creating a framework for additional accrediting bodies to be recognized by the court.
“The Court’s goal is to promote access to high-quality, affordable legal education in law schools that are committed to the free exchange of ideas and to the principle of nondiscrimination,” the opinion states. “To be clear, under the rule changes, graduates of ABA-accredited law schools will continue to be eligible to sit for the bar examination, and the rule changes do not preclude any law school from continuing to seek ABA accreditation.”
The case, In Re: Amendments to Rules Regulating The Florida Bar and Rules of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to The Bar, SC2025-2064, creates “the opportunity for additional entities to carry out an accrediting and gatekeeping function on behalf of the Court.”
The rule changes specify that any new accrediting agency must be recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and approved by the court, which has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate admission to the Bar according to Florida’s Constitution. Currently, the ABA is the only accreditor of law schools recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
No additional accrediting agency has yet been identified, and the court has not finalized its procedure for approving institutional accreditors. The opinion says that the court will contact the seven agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for accrediting institutions offering degree programs to assess their interest in accrediting law schools.
The Workgroup on the Role of the American Bar Association in Bar Admission Requirements, which was created by the court in March 2025, was charged with studying the current framework and requirements for Bar admission and proposing alternatives that would “end reliance on the ABA.” The workgroup submitted 12 alternatives for the court’s consideration in October 2025. (For details, see the News article, Court workgroup explores alternatives to ABA role in Bar admissions.)
The amendments to the Rule of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Bar 4-13.2 (Definition of Accredited) require adoption of conforming amendments to the following Rules Regulating The Florida Bar: 1-3.9 (Law Faculty Affiliates), 4-6.6 (Short-Term Limited Legal Services Programs), 11-1.2 (Activities), 11-1.3 (Requirements and Limitations), 11-1.8 (Practice After Graduation), 12-1.2 (Definitions), 20-3.1 (Requirements for Registration), and 21-2.1 - 2 - (Eligibility) and Rule of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Bar 3-14.1 (Filed as an Applicant). The amendments become effective October 1 at 12:01 a.m.
Justice Jorge Labarga filed a dissenting opinion, saying that “the ABA has developed incomparable expertise in the accreditation process” during its 34 years as the sole law school accreditor. Citing language from the workgroup’s report, Justice Labarga pointed to standards developed by the ABA that “provide consumer protections, public accountability and institutional transparency . . . protecting against predatory admissions and poor programs outcomes.”
Interested parties have 75 days to file comments. Those requesting an oral argument must file comments and submit the request by March 31.
