The Aporia · Will It Matter That ABA Council Repealed The DEI Standard?

Will It Matter That ABA Council Repealed The DEI Standard?

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Blackman, J. (2026, September 9). Will It Matter That ABA Council Repealed The DEI Standard? Reason. https://reason.com/volokh/2026/09/08/will-it-matter-that-aba-council-repealed-the-dei-standard/

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Quick Summary

The ABA Council has repealed Standard 206, a diversity and inclusion standard adopted in response to George Floyd's death in 2020, during an emergency meeting on June 15-16. The repeal vote was 10-6 with one abstention, with the stated rationale being that it is necessary to preserve recognition from state supreme courts and the Department of Education. Law school deans had pushed for the standard's adoption without evidence of its effectiveness or necessity. The author of this piece questions whether the repeal will have any real impact on law schools' practices.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-09, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

The American Bar Association's Council has repealed ABA Standard 206, a rule requiring law schools to have a "commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion" as part of their accreditation process. The standard was adopted in 2016, six years after its passage, during an emergency meeting with a vote of 10-6. The sole reason given for the repeal by Council chair Melissa Hart was that it was necessary to preserve recognition from state supreme courts and the Department of Education. This move comes after law school deans were criticized for rushing the standard's adoption without evidence of its effectiveness in improving race relations. Despite the repeal, law schools are still likely to voluntarily comply with the standard, as it has become a widely accepted practice. The decision may not have a significant impact on law schools' commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Written for “ABA's Diversity Standards Repeal” on 2026-10-24, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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0 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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Leans strongly right

of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate

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67/100

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Politics

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articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-09 · how these are computed

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Publisher

Reason · 913 article(s) · 4 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 4 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Josh Blackman

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Topics

ABA ABA Standard 206 Council Standard 206 the ABA Council

Subjects

ABA ORG · 3× Council ORG · 1× DEI ORG · 1× George Floyd's PERSON · 1× Melissa Hart PERSON · 1× the ABA Council ORG · 1× the Department of Education ORG · 1× the Education Department ORG · 1×

Narrative

"The council believes that national accreditation of law schools is in the best interests of law students, the legal profession and the public, and we can best serve in this role with continued recognition by state supreme courts and the Department of Education," said Melissa Hart, the council's chair, in a statement.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-09

🔮 There was no evidence this standard was necessary or would actually improve race relations.

2026-09-09 · Reason

Will It Matter That ABA Council Repealed The DEI Standard? · assertive framing

Claims (15 extracted, 0 hedged)

Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent ABA Standard 206 should have never been adopted. asserted

Standard → adopt → ?

Law school deans rushed it through the process in the wake of George Floyd's death. asserted

deans → rush → death

There was no evidence this standard was necessary or would actually improve race relations. asserted

standard → be → relations

Now, barely six years later, the ABA Council has repealed the standard during an emergency meeting. asserted

Council → repeal → meeting

What was the rationale for repealing the standard? asserted

rationale → repeal → standard

The Council chair said nothing about the emptiness of Standard 206. asserted

chair → say → Standard

Instead the sole reason offered was survival: asserted

reason → offer → ?

Hart → believe → statement

"Repealing Standard 206 was necessary to preserve recognition by a growing number of state courts, as well as the department. asserted

Repealing → repeal → courts

Will this action matter? asserted

action → matter → ?

I doubt it. asserted

I → doubt → it

Law schools will still voluntarily comply with the ABA's former Standard through various DEI initiatives. asserted

schools → comply → initiatives

And I doubt the Education Department will care much that this rule was repealed at the barrel of a gun. asserted

rule → doubt → gun

Nothing stops the ABA from reimposing the same of substantially similar rule in three years. asserted

Nothing → stop → years

If only the ABA had listened while there was still a chance. asserted

ABA → listen → ?