Dear Students and Alumni:

I am happy to share the following updates with you:

ABA Considers Accreditation Changes for Fully Online Law Schools

In August 2026, the American Bar Association’s Council on Legal Education announced the formation of a Fully Online Law School Task Force. The Task Force is charged with studying and recommending potential changes to the ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools to enable fully online law schools to pursue ABA approval, and it has been directed to submit its final report and recommendations by May 2027.

In October 2026, I presented to the Task Force to explain how our program works and to highlight the extent to which we already meet most of the ABA Standards. While this is positive news, it could easily still be several more years before any rules change and a decision is made regarding provisional approval for Purdue Global Law School.

The ABA announcement regarding this task force follows the formation of a similar subcommittee to study law school accreditation, formed by the CLEAR Committee (Committee on Legal Education and Admission Reform) of the Conference of Chief Justices. And shortly after the ABA made its announcement, the American Association of Law Schools, although not an accrediting body itself, formed its own task force to make recommendations as well.

Clearly, big changes in accreditation may be afoot, and it appears that stakeholders want to ensure their voices help shape the ABA's future direction. We would like to think that our own advocacy played a role as well. Purdue Global Law School sent the ABA a letter in July 2026 urging them to take up accreditation of fully online law schools this year. While there are no guarantees about the timing or outcome, the possibility of ABA accreditation seems closer than at any point in the school’s history. We will, of course, keep you updated if there are further developments.

Expanding State Bar Licensure Opportunities in Ohio for Purdue Global Law School Graduates

Purdue Global Law School is excited to add Ohio to the list of state licensure opportunities for our Juris Doctor (JD) graduates. On August 6, 2026, the Supreme Court of Ohio amended its bar admission rules so that graduates of a law school approved by a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting agency can pursue bar licensure. The key here is that the revised rule does not require that the agency be a law school accrediting agency. Because Purdue Global Law School is part of Purdue Global, which has been institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLCommission.org) since March 5, 2018, graduates from the law school after that date are eligible for the Ohio bar.

This makes Ohio the fifth state where Purdue Global Law School graduates can sit for the bar exam immediately upon graduation (joining California, Connecticut, Indiana, and Washington state). This marks 5 down, 45 to go!

Bar Exam Eligibility Updates: Washington, Tennessee, Texas, and Florida

Although the Washington State Bar Association amended its rules effective September 1, 2026, to allow graduates of state-accredited or approved law schools to sit for that state’s bar exam upon graduation, that wasn’t the end of the story. On September 24, 2026, a member of the Board of Governors brought a motion to repeal that amendment and return to exclusive reliance on ABA approval to pursue immediate licensure. I and seven of our students and graduates gave public comment at the meeting, and the repeal measure was ultimately rejected by a vote of 11–3. So Washington state is now solidly in play for us.

On October 2, 2026, the Tennessee Supreme Court amended its legal education requirement for bar admission so that a bar applicant is now eligible if their law school was accredited by an Approved Accreditor recognized by Tennessee. However, as of now, the only Approved Accreditor Tennessee has identified is the ABA itself. We are hopeful that Tennessee will expand the list of Approved Accreditors soon to include the State Bar of California and/or the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).

In this regard, Tennessee is similar to Texas and Florida, both of which have moved beyond reliance on the ABA on the books, but neither of which has established the process or criteria for non-ABA schools to become state approved. Given that the Texas Attorney General recently launched an investigation into the ABA, Texas may be moving closer to creating a pathway for non-ABA law schools.

Thanks, and all the best,

Martin Pritikin
Dean and Vice President
Purdue Global Law School

About the Author

Martin Pritikin, JD

Martin Pritikin serves as Dean and Vice President at Purdue Global Law School (formerly Concord Law School). The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not represent the view of Purdue Global Law School.

Dean's Column