What Law Schools Should be Thinking About in Response to the New ABA Standards

By Susannah Pollvogt

We recently presented a webinar on the implications for law schools regarding the new American Bar Association accreditation standards on learning outcomes and assessments. I was joined by Zack DeMeola, LSAC’s senior director of strategic initiatives, who is also the co-chair of the ABA Resources on Outcomes and Assessments Committee . The committee played a major role in helping develop the new standards. The webinar had more than 130 attendees, including deans, associate deans, and faculty members.

I detailed the new standards in a prior post. But there is a lot going on here beyond the text of the standards. Allow me to elaborate.

1. One major issue that cannot be ignored is that law schools are facing a lot of pressure from different sectors right now — whether it is changes to attorney licensure regimes or changes in the landscape of higher education.
2. I would suggest disentangling the ABA’s efforts to bring sound learning theory to legal education from the current backdrop against which these regulatory changes are taking place. Indeed, when I advise law schools about the new standards, I encourage them to pretend the standards don’t exist at all. Instead, I urge them to focus on the inherent benefits of the principles the standards address. Articulating and assessing learning outcomes is simply a good way to enhance student learning, regardless of any regulatory framework.
3. Another issue is uncertainty around what the standards actually mean and what they will require of law schools, especially when it comes time for their next ABA site visit. The fact of the matter is, there are many open questions that we won’t know the answers to until we get further guidance from the ABA (which is forthcoming). 
4. At the same time, there is much that we can do now, before that guidance is provided.
   1. Become familiar with text of the standards and the specific ways in which they depart from prior iterations.
   2. Discuss what the new standards might mean for your law school’s approach to curriculum and pedagogy. There may be some guesswork involved here, but there is no harm in getting the ball rolling. The standards go into effect in August of this year, and you don’t want to be caught flat-footed. This is particularly applicable for schools that have site visits coming up in the next few years. (The ABA will begin enforcing the standards in site visits beginning in August 2026.)
   3. For example, one thing we know for sure is that course-level learning outcomes must be differentiated from programmatic learning outcomes. Many schools have not made a great deal of progress with either their course-level or programmatic learning outcomes, and now is as good a time as any to engage whole-heartedly in that work.
   4. Start gathering and delving into the resources that are available right now — like resources on learning outcome design and assessment .

This can feel like . . . a lot. So, feel free to reach out for help. As part of LSAC’s Legal Education Consulting team, I work with law schools on translating the new standards into plain language and starting the discussion about the implications for curriculum and pedagogy. I also facilitate workshops on developing programmatic and course-level learning outcomes. I focus heavily on making this work as light a lift as possible. Faculty and administrators alike are extremely busy, and any goals that are set must be realistic and achievable.

If you would like to discuss any of the matters addressed here, feel free to reach out to me at spollvogt@LSAC.org.