Texas AG opens probe into American Bar Association's accreditation practices
Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general and Republican US Senate candidate, during a Texas primary election night event in Dallas, Texas, US, on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. US Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are heading for a runoff
AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Attorney General’s Office has opened an investigation into the American Bar Association’s accreditation of law schools.
What we know:
The investigation is focused on determining whether the ABA used its accreditation authority to restrict competition and increase the cost of legal education, according to a release from the attorney general’s office.
The release cites multiple concerns, including allegations that the ABA artificially inflated faculty salaries, imposed costly accreditation requirements, and excluded certain law schools that "challenged" the organization’s views.
Dig deeper:
Investigators also claim that the national organization enforced "unconstitutional racial and gender preference requirements on law schools’ admissions and hiring processes."
The Texas Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday it had issued a Civil Investigative Demand to the ABA.
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What they're saying:
"There must be competition and a fair playing field when it comes to law school accreditation, or else we risk inflated costs for students, unfair restrictions, and illegal discriminatory practices," said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. "My office will investigate whether the law school accreditation process has been used to unlawfully limit competition and burden students and institutions. No organization should be permitted to use its position of influence to violate our antitrust laws."
A spokesperson for the Accreditation Council provided the following statement in response to news of the investigation:
"We are in receipt of the Texas AG’s Civil Investigative Demand and will work with the Texas AG’s office to respond to their inquiry," the statement read.
The backstory:
Earlier this year, Texas became the first state to cut ties with the ABA, meaning graduates no longer have to attend an ABA-accredited school if they want to practice law in the state.
The organization has also come under fire nationally, with President Donald Trump taking millions of dollars in federal funding away from the ABA.
The ABA has criticized the Trump Administration, writing in a March news release that the government's actions have indicated a "clear and disconcerting pattern" in efforts to "undermine the courts and the legal profession."
The Source: This information primarily comes from a news release from the Texas Attorney General's Office. The Accreditation Council for Legal Education also provided a statement, and background information was sourced from the American Bar Association and Houston Public Media.