The Council of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar issued a notice and call for comment regarding its Standard 208 proposal, encompassing Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression in law schools. This move took place in August, with the comment period concluding on September 29. Surprisingly, a mere five comments were received.
The goal of Standard 208 is to make sure law schools sufficiently safeguard academic freedom for educators and more generally, freedom of expression. The ABA’s viewpoint on the topic can be found in their official
memorandum concerning notice and comment.
Among the few respondents was Bonnie Shucha, the associate dean for Library and Information Services and Director of the Law Library at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Shucha penned a notable letter to the ABA, pressing the Council to include librarians specifically under the protections of academic freedom and freedom of expression in the proposed Standard 208.
For those interested in tracking similar developments within the ABA, you can read the original news article here.