The Texas State Supreme Court issued an order to end its relationship with the American Bar Association (ABA) accreditation, letting its highest court determine which graduates can become lawyers.
According to the ABA, an ABA-accredited law school meets the minimum standards set by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and the Admissions of the Bar, and in most states, students must graduate from an ABA-accredited law school to be eligible to take the bar exam.
To practice law in Texas, students with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) must pass the Texas Bar Examination, known as the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE), which is produced by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
The Texas Supreme Court announced its plans on Sept. 26, with changes taking effect Jan. 1, 2026, following a public comment hearing until Dec. 1, 2025.
Assistant Professor for Criminal Justice and Criminology and Pre-law advisor, Melanie Soderstrom, wrote in an email to The Star that Texas is the first state to do this, so the fallout is unclear until it is in effect.
“There was a letter from eight deans of Texas law schools requesting that the Supreme Court continue the requirement that attorneys graduate from ABA-accredited law schools,” Soderstrom wrote.
Texas State University’s pre-law program is an advising program for students who are seeking law school after undergrad, but Texas State does not have a law school. Pre-law advising consists of faculty advisor Kenneth Ward and other professors who have experience in law.
Ward wrote in an email to The Star that it is possible for new programs that allow students to be qualified to take the Texas bar exam even though they are not ABA-accredited.
“[Students seeking law school should] think hard about why you want to go to law school and how you expect a law degree to contribute to your life. Too many people go to law school because they do not know what else they want to do,” Ward wrote.
According to JD advising, students often end up practicing in the state in where they attended law school.
Soderstrom wrote that pre-law students who are thinking about law school should seek advising to determine if law school is the best fit and which school aligns with their goals.
Each state has different bar exams and requirements for students with a J.D. to practice law. However, states that administer the UBE allow students to transfer to other states if they meet that state’s requirements.
“We have to remember that Texas law schools teach people besides Texas residents, and it would be to an advantage for that school to continue the ABA accreditation,” David Levy, assistant professor of instruction in political science, said. “So that it wouldn’t make the school less appealing to someone from, say, Massachusetts or Oklahoma or some other state that might require ABA accreditation for their graduates to be able to take the bar exam in that state.”
Texas law schools that already hold ABA-accreditation will continue to allow graduates to sit for the Texas Bar.
“Where issues would arise are those students attending a law school in Texas no longer accredited by the ABA and seeking to sit for the bar exam of another state,” Soderstrom wrote. “… However, as noted, if the Texas law schools continue to seek ABA-accreditation, then there are no concerns.”
As part of being considered an ABA-accredited law school, the school has to report a Standard 509 information report, which contains information on the number of law students, LSAT test scores, acceptance scores, curricula offered and demographics. Students choosing which law school to attend tend to look at this type of information to make their decision, according to Soderstrom.
“If a Texas law school chooses to no longer be ABA accredited, then they will no longer need to make this data publicly available,” Soderstrom wrote.
The Texas Supreme Court did not provide a reason why it decided to separate from with ABA-accreditation. This order comes after the Supreme Court of Florida announced plans that it was going to do the same, but due to “the ABA’s diversity requirement and political engagement.”
ABA filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration, asking a federal court to declare “Trump’s administration policy of intimidation against lawyers and law firms as unlawful.”
According to the order, the Texas Supreme Court does not want to impose additional requirements on law schools that are already accredited.
Law schools, on average, take students three years to complete, usually graduating in May and sitting for the bar exam of their chosen state in July.
“I feel like the bar is a pretty big part of what you do for law school, and that’s always been a big driving factor of where you go to school and stuff, because obviously once you take the bar, that’s the only place you can practice and everything,” Sadie Smith, sophomore criminal justice and pre-law, said.
Toward the end of the order, the Texas Supreme Court lists all the law schools whose graduates are allowed to sit for the Texas bar exam. Students are still allowed to study at law schools outside of Texas and be eligible for the Texas Bar exam.
To make a public comment, email [email protected]
