American Bar Association Proposes Deregulatory Changes to Law School Accreditation Standards

The Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has published proposed changes to ABA accreditation standards, offering increased flexibility for law schools. The first change would reduce the required credit hours for 'regularly scheduled classroom sessions or direct faculty instruction' from 64 to 48, allowing for more out-of-classroom experiences like clinics and externships. A second change would streamline the admissions process for students without traditional undergraduate credentials, moving from 'extraordinary' to 'appropriate' cases for exceptions.