Tenure is safe. The American Bar Association’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar voted to maintain the current tenure standards for full-time law school faculty during its March 14 and 15 meeting.
In August, the Council had voted for Notice and Comment on two alternate proposals to tenure. The first required law schools to provided full-time faculty with protection for their positions, but not tenure. The second would have eliminated security for positions, but would have mandated that schools provide enough job security to attract quality faculty members.
The two proposals generated heated discussions and comments. Advocates for the current standard argued that changes would impact academic freedom, and affect students’ educations.
“It’s an imperfect standard, but the attempts to change it would have been far worse,” Kate Kruse, president of the Clinical Legal Education Association and director of clinics at Hamline University School of Law told The National Law Journal. “It would have been a race to the bottom.”
Advocates for the change said most law schools would likely retain tenure, but it would give some the option for more flexible options. Some law school administrators said the tenure requirement makes it more difficult to strive for greater efficiency or to reduce staffing.
In addition to the decision on tenure, the Council voted to require six credits of experiential learning for all students. The Council rejected an alternate proposal that would have required students to complete 15 credits. The new standard requires students to take at least six credit hours in coursework which allows them to perform and have opportunities for self-evaluation.
The Council also adopted 50 hours of student pro bono work as a goal, rejecting a requirement, like the one imposed by the New York Court of Appeals for admission to the New York Bar.
In addition, the Council voted to send a proposal allowing students to receive academic credit for paid externships for Notice and Comment. The Council will vote on this proposal at its June meeting.
