Law schools must adopt free speech policies to maintain ABA accreditation

The American Bar Association (ABA) announced Monday that it will add free speech requirements to its law school accreditation process.

In a popular vote, the ABA’s House of Delegates approved a new policy aimed at combating laws and protests that impede free speech and discussion on law school campuses.

“The Law School Free Speech Standards established under Resolution 300 establish standards 208 for the nation’s 196 law schools currently accredited by the ABA’s Council on Legal Education and Bar Admissions. ,” the ABA statement said.

“The new standards allow faculty, students, and staff to ‘communicate potentially controversial or unpopular ideas, including through heated debates, demonstrations, and protests,’ and do not interfere with free speech.” “We are required to adopt policies that prohibit activities that infringe or infringe on the United States. However, we do not mandate specific policy language,” the statement added.

The group said the new free speech policy comes as states such as Florida have enacted laws restricting discussion of race and other controversial topics in the classroom.

It also targets recent student protests at Stanford University and Yale Law School that shut down conservative speakers.

“Law school faculty have long enjoyed academic freedom protections, but the new standards are the first to address free speech for the law school community as a whole,” the statement reads.