Education Policy, Business and Technology

Law School Accreditor Raises Bar-Passage Standard

Inside Higher Ed: After years of debate and false starts, the American Bar Association's accrediting arm on Friday toughened its requirement on the rate at which a law school's graduates must pass the bar for the school to be accredited. The association's Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar (per the descriptions in this memorandum and Q&A) will now require that 75 percent of a school's graduates pass the bar within two years of completing the program. The 75 percent standard isn't any higher than it has been, but the new rule eliminates several exceptions that watered down the requirement significantly. The rule takes effect next spring, when law schools will have to report their rates for 2017 graduates.

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