Overview
- Florida's high court voted 5-1 to revise bar-admissions rules so the American Bar Association is no longer the sole accreditor whose graduates may sit for the state bar exam.
- The rule permits approval of law schools accredited by a Department of Education–recognized programmatic accreditor for legal education or by an institutional accreditor that the court also approves.
- Graduates of ABA-accredited schools will continue to qualify as the court opens additional pathways and leaves specific accreditor approvals and implementation details to be determined.
- Justice Jorge Labarga dissented, warning that replacing the ABA’s decades of specialized accreditation expertise with unknown alternatives could be detrimental.
- The decision follows a Texas Supreme Court order on Jan. 6 declaring state approval sufficient for law school accreditation, while the ABA said Florida’s order reinforces the authority it has always had over licensure and accredited schools.