Texas Supreme Court Rejects ABA’s Accreditation Monopoly, Sides With AFPI

FORT WORTH, TX — In a step toward greater independence in legal education, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) welcomed the Supreme Court of Texas’ tentative approval of amendments to Rule One of the Rules Governing Admission to the Bar of Texas.

In its ruling, the Court order proposes reducing the American Bar Association’s (ABA) role in determining whether a law school’s graduates are eligible to sit for the Texas bar exam, signaling that Texas may free its law students from the ABA’s monopoly on accreditation.

AFPI has long argued that the ABA’s requirements—including mandatory “diversity and inclusion” directives, ideological lesson plans, and accreditation threats against non-compliant schools—undermine merit-based education and infringe on academic freedom.

“This is a meaningful victory for Texans and for the future of legal education,” said Jack Casali, Associate Attorney at AFPI. “The Court has made clear that an outside organization cannot condition a lawyer’s license on whether they received partisan education. Law schools should train future attorneys in the law—not in ideology.”

AFPI’s statement to the Court documented how the ABA’s standards, including “Standard 206” on diversity mandates and “Standard 303(c)” requiring ideological coursework, improperly inject politics into education and contradict principles of equal treatment under the law.

“This decision protects the integrity of Texas’s legal system and reaffirms that accreditation should be about competence, not compliance with an ideological agenda,” Casali added. “Other states should take note. Texas has shown that it is possible to stand up to the ABA and put students and fairness first.”