SALT Urges ABA Council to Address Unanswered Questions Before Revising Bar Passage Standard

SALT Comments on Proposed Standard 316 Revisions

While the proposed standard’s simplicity has appeal, unanswered questions remain about how the standard will work, especially in view of the recent worrying declines in the rate of bar passage in many states and for many schools. We urge the Council to consider the questions we raise below before adopting the standard to ensure it works fairly and appropriately. As we also note, we continue to have fundamental concerns about the limitations of the current system of licensing lawyers through the bar exam and the unfortunate ways in which Standard 316 affects law school admissions and pedagogy. Removing the flexibility in the current standard may well exacerbate those problems. We urge the Council to use the discussion of Standard 316 as an opportunity to raise and address those broader issues as well.  Read full comments…