Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to see the Florida Supreme Court and not the American Bar Association as the main accreditor of law schools in Florida.
The governor's comments came at a press conference Wednesday in Steinhatchee, where he discussed among other things, rural grants for communities throughout the state and a special session on redistricting.
DeSantis called for the change because he says the American Bar Association, the state's primary accreditor for law schools, is biased and said it pushes a "progressive agenda."
"Like, left of the left. I mean, like, it's a very partisan left activist organization, and you know, they have a right to do that if that's what floats your boat, but they should not play a central role in legal education or the legal profession," DeSantis said.
Instead DeSantis wants Florida to follow what Texas has done, moving accreditation of law schools to the state's supreme court.
"The Texas Supreme Court said the law schools are going to be accredited by the Supreme Court of Texas, and that's how they're going to do it. They should do that at the Florida Supreme Court. They should do the exact same thing that Texas did," DeSantis said.
The American Bar Association says it is a nonpartisan professional organization.
In a statement, the ABA says it's the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions wing of the organization that accredits schools in the state, and that it acts separately and independently from the larger ABA.
Plus, it says the Council already works in conjunction with the Florida Supreme Court to accredit schools.
"We look forward to continuing to work with the Florida Supreme Court, and all other state supreme courts and bar admitting authorities, to help preserve the portability of law school degrees throughout the country," read the statement.
Watch the full press conference. Law school accreditation conversation begins after the 40-minute mark:
In July, DeSantis launched a new accreditor for higher education institutions in the state, claiming that the state's current accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, was also biased.
The Commission for Public Higher Education (CPHE) that he rolled out is a partnership between the State University System of Florida, and five other higher education bodies: the University System of Georgia, the University of North Carolina System, the University of South Carolina, the University of Tennessee System, and the Texas A&M University System.
Any changes to accreditors to state colleges and law schools need to be approved by the U.S. Department of Education.
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