Overview
- In a Jan. 6 order, the justices finalized rule changes stating the ABA will no longer have the final say on who may practice law in Texas.
- Authority to decide bar eligibility and approve law schools now rests with the Texas Supreme Court, reversing a delegation made in 1983.
- Currently approved schools remain recognized in Texas with no added compliance burdens, and loss of ABA accreditation alone will not remove a school from the approved list.
- The court says it will apply simple, objective criteria that include bar-passage and transparency metrics while working to maintain portability for Texas and out-of-state graduates.
- Texas acted as scrutiny of the ABA intensified, with Florida, Ohio and Tennessee conducting similar reviews, a 2025 letter from Attorney General Pam Bondi challenging ABA diversity policies, and President Trump cutting federal funding the ABA is contesting in court.