The Council of the American Bar Association’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar made a decisive move concerning legal academia’s freedom. A proposal named Standard 208, focusing on ‘Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression’, was voted to be sent forward in the ABA House of Delegates for concurrence. This proposed standard is intended to ensure the right protection for academic freedom within law schools, with an underlying emphasis on freedom of expression, as conveyed in the ABA memorandum.
Standard 208 came under discussion in the November 17 council meeting conducted in Texas, where Daniel Thies, the vice chair of the council, presented his perspective. He suggested pushing Standard 208 to the HOD with minor linguistic modifications, which he described as mere clarifying changes unnecessary to shy away from further notice and comment.
The final decision on the ‘Academic Freedom’ proposal will be taken at the ABA Midyear Meeting, due in February 2024.
Find out more about this development on Law.com.