NACIQI staff blasted the ABA’s new standards, calling the language “vague and ambiguous” because it “inevitably requires the agency to use unpublished criteria when evaluating a law school.” The committee’s report noted that while the standard exempted schools from using preferences in states that prohibit them, it “can be read to require other law schools to use such preferences. … This dichotomy will result in inconsistent diversity admissions and
hiring standards.
“In stark contrast with [the prior standard], which provided detailed guidance and required the development of a diversity plan and written records and files of specific actions, the new standard and interpretations demand ‘concrete action’ but [do] little to provide concrete examples of how a school might comply,” the report continues. NACIQI also criticized the new standards for not specifying what actions or results the ABA would assess. With such vague guidelines, “the use of unwritten criteria and unpublished standards appears unavoidable,” the report says.
— By Charles Pekow
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
