The American Bar Association (ABA) proposal to accredit fully online law schools is recently seeing a decline in support. An ABA council has failed to justify a deviation from the current practice. Moreover, the amendments proposed to Standard 102 and 306, significant to this proposal, thus far do not seem to address any recognised problems.
The resistance gained momentum following a critique endorsed by 26 deans hailing from different law schools across the United States. The deans, in their comment, highlighted the absence of satisfactory reasons for breaking away from the ongoing procedure. They also questioned the need for the suggested revisions if these revisions are incapable of resolving related issues.
By accrediting online law schools, the ABA aimed at widening access to legal education. Nonetheless, the doubt expressed by eminent legal professionals indicate the need for a more in-depth examination into the matter. This significantly underscores the importance of ensuring rigorous academic standards and quality of legal education in our endeavor to make it more accessible.
A more detailed discussion about this issue can be found here.