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Notices of proposed standards changes and responses to proposed standards changes

Notice and Comment

March 2024

Matters for Notice and Comment Related to Standards 204, 301, 302, 314, 315, and 403 (Learning Outcomes) and Rules 40-46 (Processing Complaints Against Law Schools) 

Comments on Standards 204, 301, 302, 314, 315, and 403

January 2024

Matters for Notice and Comment Related to Standards 102 and 306

Comments on Standards 102 and 306

Memo Regarding Consultant’s Evaluation of the JD-Next Exam for Law School Admissions

Comments Received

November 2023

Matters for Notice and Comment Related to Standards 304, 405, 701, and 702

Comments on Standards 304 and 405

Comments on Standards 701 and 702

August 2023

Matters for Notice and Comment on Standards Revisions related to Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression, Learning Outcomes and Assessment, and Library and Information Resources

Matters for Notice and Comment on Revisions to Definitions, Standards, and Rules based on USDE Guidance and Council Accreditation Work

Comments Received

May 2023

Council Update on Definitions, Standards, and Rules for ABA House of Delegates Concurrence in August 2023

Matters for Notice and Comment on Revisions Related to Sanctions for Non-Compliance with the Standards and Public Disclosure of Council Decisions and Accreditation Status: Definition 16; Standard 509; and Rules 2, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 50, and 51

Comments Received

February 2023

Matters for Notice and Comment on Increasing Distance Education Limits (Definitions 7 and 8; Standards 105, 306, 311, and 511; and Rule 24) and Other Matters (Standards 307, 313, and 509)

Comments Received

Council Update on Standards 501 and 503 for ABA House of Delegates Concurrence; Council Approval of Rules 13 and 32 at its February 2023 Meeting

January 2023

Matters for Notice and Comment: ABA Standard 304 and Rules 13 and 32

Comments Received

November 2022

Amendments to Standards 501 and 503 Approved by the Council at its November 2022 Meeting

June 2022

Matters for Notice and Comment - Standards 501 and 503

Comments Received

Aiemee Low
Chun Lee
Fariha Amin
Jalesa Truesdell
Jameelah Kates
Ronnisha Foster
Sophie Loeb
Vincent Reed
Manuel Delgado
Shawn Bayern
Matt Jackson 
CLEA
SALT
Daryl Pollard
Tamere Briley 
Shirley Jervis 
LSAT Engine 
Alec Burns
Keller Kahn 
Frank Read
Claudia Ortiz
Dakota Lucci
Jacob Thompson
Rachel Kelts
Christopher T. Robertson, Marc L. Miller, Robert A. Williams, Jr., and John K. Pierre
Ryan Stewart 
Barry Currier
Bill Rogers
Rebecca Scheller, Kristin Alvarez, and Others
Stuart Heesh
Samantha Slack
Rudraj Koppikar
Robert Ramsey
Rachel Wickenheiser
Matt Leinwand
Kilse Ochem
Kevin Washburn
Jordan Armstrong
Jahred Tolbert
Derek Muller
Christine Savino
Alexander Shaw 
Benjamin Cooper
George Chen
Jason Strong
LSAC
Rachel Sheffield
Thomas Hulbert
Alan Wang
Alexander Pellegrino
Jessie Funkhouser
Katelyn Keegan
Nadia Jo
Patricia Bryan
Tiba Fatli
Alexandra Walsh
Amy Stewart
Donald Tobin
Elizabeth Warner and Reyes Aguilar
George Dawson
Jonathan Williams
Peter Rutledge and Greg Roseboro
Steven Evans
Thomas Browning
AccessLex Institute
Carson Wheet
Christina Jackson
Daniel Rodriguez
Diane Curtis
Emma Callihan
ETS
Ali Farzin and Matthew Kumar
Jessica Braun
John White
Iowa State Bar Young Lawyers Division
Anonymous
David Pruitt
Imran Ghumman
John DiMarco
Robert Wagman
Wendy Jeter
Zachary Henderson
Anonymous
CABL
Camille deJorna
CJ Johannes
CLEA
CLEO
David Johnson
David Keetle
Han
Hanan Zaki
Jennifer Huff
Jonathan Feingold
Julia Meyers
Kellye Testy
Matthew Asmar
Melissa Jones
Purvin Shah
Samuel Giles
Santino Cafarella
Tara Polk
Various Deans
Vikram Amar
William Jacobson
Anand Desai
Casey Crowley
Cassandra Turner
Danny Harris
Jay Rosner
John Holland
Jonathan Davis
Raven Carroll
Robin Singh
Ronnie Lindstrom
SALT
Max Van Zile
Kristin S.

February 2022

Standards and Rule Amendments Approved by the Council at its February 2022 Meeting

December 2021

Matters for Notice and Comment -Definitions (7)-(8); Standards 206, 306, 311(c) and (e), and 405(b); and Rules 19 and 29

Comments Received

Anand Desai 
Barry Currier
Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA)
David Bernstein
Ken Marcus
National Disabled Law Students Association (NDLSA) 
Nicholas Lawson
Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) 
Society of American Law Teachers (SALT)
Stephen Garvey
Thomas Gallanis 
Various Chairs of ABA Commissions 
William Jacobson

November 2021

Memo Regarding Attendance and Distance Education Variances

October 2021

Memo Regarding Consultant’s Evaluation of ETS’s 2018 Report on the Validity of the GRE

Comments Received

Barry Currier
ETS
IAALS
Garry Jenkins and John White
LSAC 
Marc Miller, Christopher Robertson, and Various Law School Deans
Mark Raymond
Various Law School Deans

May 2021

Matters for Notice and Comment – Standards 205, 206, 303, 507, and 508

Comments Received

Patrick Keenan
David Bernstein and Brian Leister
Temple University Beasley School of Law
Thomas Gallanis
 Scott Fruehwald
Alan Rozenshtein
Steven Solomon
Adam Lamparello
Kent Halkett 
Yale Law School  
Janice Craft 
Eric Biber
Richard Mills
Dominic Lindauer
Joseph Olson
Louis Nettles
Douglas Levene
LSAC
Steven Harris
Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions
First Liberty Institute
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)
Daniel Suhr
Tom Fix
Luke Thiesen
Stanley Neustadter
Various Law School Deans
SALT
Darren Gold
Michael Hutter
CLEA
Various Law Professors
Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs
Angela Onwuachi-Willig
Various Attorneys and Alumni
William Jacobson
Tanya Cooper 
Barry Currier
Larry Cunningham

March 2021

Matters for Notice and Comment – Standards 303 and 508 and Rules 2 and 13 

Comments Received

Standard 303 – Klein
Standard 303 – Newman
Standard 303 – Landry
Standards 303(b) and 508 – McConkie
Standard 303 – Fruehwald
Standard 303 – Frossard
Standard 303 – Hubbard
Standards 303(b) and 508 and Rules 2 and 13 – Rice
Standards 303(b) and 508 – Flynn 
Standard 303(b) – Zlotnick  
Standard 303 - Holloran Center 
Standard 303 - Hampton
Standards 303 and 508 - Gould 
Standards 303 and 508 - Rush
Standards 303 and 508 - Perdue
Standards 303 and 508 - AccessLex Institute
Standards 303 and 508 and Rules 2 and 13 - State Bar of Michigan
Standards 303 and 508 - CoLAP
Standards 303 and 508 - SC on Professionalism
Standard 508 - University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Standards 303 and 508 – SALT
Standard 303 – CLEA
Standard 303 – Thomson
Standard 508 – The Missouri Bar
Standard 303 – George Washington University Law School
Standards 303 and 508 – The Institute for Well-Being in Law
Standard 508 – Holloran Center
Standard 303 – Regent Law School Center for Ethical Formation
Standards 303 and 508 - Mitchell Hamline School of Law
Standard 303 - Reuter 
Standards 303 and 508 - Lawson
Standard 303 - Krieger
Standards 303 and 508 - Gallini
Standards 303 and 508 - Georgetown Law
Standard 303 - Teague
Standards 303 and 508 - IAALS
Standards 303 and 508 - Baker 
Standards 303 and 508 - Suzuki
Standards 303 and 508 - Lozada
Standard 303 - Archer

December 2020

Matters for Notice and Comment – Standard 104 and Standard 506; Rule 4 and Rule 8

September 2020

Memo Regarding ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure – Matters for Notice and Comment – Rule 29-Teach Out Plan

May 2020

Memo Regarding Standards Review Special Agenda Item on Distance Education

May 19, 2020 Memo Regarding ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure – Matters for Notice and Comment-Rule 2

April 2020

Memo Regarding Extension of Notice and Comment Period to May 8, 2020

March 2020

March 17, 2020 Memo Regarding Cancellation of May Public Hearing

March 6, 2020, Memo and Drafts of Proposed Revisions (Standards and Rules)

January 2020

January 13th, 2020 Memo and Drafts of Proposed Revisions (Standards and Rules)

December 2019

1. Retroactive application of accrediting decisions
    • Rule 2
2. Provisional approval
    • Rule 22
    • Rule 29
    • Standard 102
    • Standard 103
3. Substantive change
    • Rule 24
    • Standard 105
4. Appeal
    • Rule 39
5. Other
    • Rule 27

December 10, 2019 Memo and Drafts of Proposed Revisions (Standards and Rules)

August 2019

Memo on Comments Received on Standards Review Agenda for 2019-20

Comments Received on Standards Review Agenda for 2019-20 
Request for Change Regarding Non-Compliance with Standard 205(b)
Comments on Substance Abuse and Well-Being
Request for Changes to ABA Standard 306
Request to Change ABA Standard 501 Admissions Standards
Request for Change to ABA Standard 501 (Inter. 501-3)
Request for Change to Standard 507  

August 21 Notice and Comment Hearing Transcript

June 2019

• Standard 202. Resources for Program
• Standard 206. Diversity and Inclusion
• Standard 307. Studies, Activities, and Field Placements Outside the United States
• Standard 310. Determination of Credit Hours for Coursework
• Standard 311. Academic Program and Academic Calendar
• Standard 502. Educational Requirements
• Standard 509. Required Disclosures
• Rule 13. Actions on Determinations of Noncompliance with a Standard
• Rule 29. Teach-Out Plan
• Rules 30-36. Appeals Panel Procedure
• Rule 37. Complaints in General
• Rule 39. Disposition of Complaints
• Criteria for Foreign Summer and Intersession Programs

June 17, 2019, Memo and Drafts of Proposed Revisions (Standards and Rules)
June 17, 2019, Memo and Drafts of Proposed Revisions (Foreign Summer/Intersession Criteria)

Comments Received

James McGrath Comments
National Diverse Bar Associations Comments
Managing Director's Comment re Foreign Criteria

February 2018

  • Standard 306. Distance Education
  • Standard 307. Studies, Activities, and Field Placements Outside the United States
  • Rule 53. Applications, Decisions, and Recommendations Made Public

February 22, 2018, Memo and Drafts of Proposed Revisions

December 2017

  • Revisions to Standards and Rules necessary to accomplish the merging of the Accreditation Committee and the Standards Review Committee into the Council.

December 15, 2017, Memo and Drafts of Proposed Revisions

November 2017

  • Standard 205. Non-Discrimination and Equality of Opportunity
  • Standard 206. Diversity and Inclusion
  • Standard 303. Curriculum
    Standard 304. Simulation Courses, Clinics, and Field Placements
  • Standard 503. Admissions Test
  • Standard 601. Library and Information Resources, General Provisions
  • Rule 3: Accreditation Committee Responsibility and Authority
  • Rule 5: Site Evaluations
  • Rule 10: Notice of Accreditation Decision by Other Agency
  • Rule 14: Actions on Determinations of Noncompliance with a Standard
  • Rule 22: Council Consideration of Recommendation of Accreditation Committee
  • Rule 23: Council Consideration of Appeal from Accreditation Committee Decision
  • Rule 24: Evidence and Record for Decision
  • Rule 25: Decisions by the Council
  • Rule 34: Teach-Out Plan
  • Rule 52: Disclosure of Decision Letters

November 17, 2017, Memo and Drafts of Proposed Revisions

April 2018 Hearing

Transcript - April 12, 2018

Standards 205 and 206

ABA Commission on Disability Rights and Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Ave Maria School of Law
Council of Christian Colleges and Universities
Regent University School of Law

Standards 303 and 304

Clinical Legal Education Association

Standard 306

Vermont Law School

Standard 501 and 503

American Indian Law Center
R. Lawrence Dessem
Kevin K. Washburn
Christina B. Whitman
AccessLex Institute
Seton Hall University School of Law
Minority Network
Interested Admissions Deans and Directors
Educational Testing Service
SALT
CLEO
Robert A. Williams Jr.
LSAC
Bradley J.B. Toben
Clinical Legal Education Association
Deans Miller, Chemerinsky, Rodriguez, and Farnsworth
Daniel B. Rodriguez
Benjamin Brown

Standard 601

Society of Academic Law Library Directors
American Association of Law Libraries

Archive

Visit the Notice and Comment Archive to view items previously circulated and comments received.