In Re: Amendments to Rules Regulating The Florida Bar and Rules of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to The Bar
The Florida Supreme Court amended Rule of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Bar 4-13.2 to end exclusive reliance on the American Bar Association as the sole accrediting agency for law schools whose graduates may sit for Florida's General Bar Examination, effective October 1, 2026. Graduates of schools approved by any U.S. Department of Education-recognized programmatic or institutional accreditor approved by the Court are now eligible. Conforming amendments were adopted in eight Florida Bar rules. Justice Labarga dissented, arguing the ABA's three decades of expertise should be preserved.
Key facts
- Since 1992, Rule 4-13.2 defined an 'accredited law school' solely as one approved or provisionally approved by the American Bar Association, making the ABA the exclusive gatekeeper for determining which law school graduates could sit for Florida's General Bar Examination.
- In March 2025, the Florida Supreme Court established a Workgroup on the Role of the American Bar Association in Bar Admission Requirements to study whether continued exclusive reliance on the ABA accreditation was in Florida's best interest, with the workgroup directed to evaluate goals of legal excellence, cost-effective education, nondiscrimination, and public protection.
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Holdings
- Rule 4-13.2 is amended to redefine 'accredited law school' as any law school approved by (a) a programmatic accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit…
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Why it matters
This is the most structurally significant Bar admission rule change since 1992. Although ABA-accredited graduates are unaffected immediately, the rule opens the door for the Florida Supreme Court to recognize additional… — full analysis with a trial
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