Section Of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar American Bar Association
The Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar approved revisions to the Standards Rules of Procedure for the Approval of Law Schools and the Interpretations of those Standards. These revisions are reported below.
Standard 803 provides that these matters be presented to the ABA House of Delegates for review. This will occur at the August 2005 Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association. If the House concurs in the revisions, they will be effective immediately.
The current full-text of the Standards (and these revisions) can be viewed at the Section’s Web site at www.abanet.org/legaled.
Chapter 1
General Purposes And Practices; Definitions
Standard 101. No revisions are proposed to this Standard.
Standard 102. Provisional Approval
(a) A law school is shall be granted provisional approval only if it establishes that it is in substantial compliance with each of the Standards and presents a reliable plan for bringing the law school into full compliance with the Standards within three years after receiving provisional approval.
(b) A law school that is provisionally approved may have its approval withdrawn if it is determined that it the law school is not in substantial compliance with the Standards or if that the law school is not making adequate progress toward coming into full compliance with the Standards. If more than five years have elapsed since the law school was provisionally approved and it has not qualified for full approval, provisional approval shall lapse and the law school shall automatically be removed from the list of approved law schools unless, prior to the end of the five year period, In in an extraordinary case and for good cause shown, the Council may extends the time within which the law school shall must obtain full approval.
(c) A law school shall confer the J.D. degree contemporaneously with the time academic requirements for the degree are completed.
Interpretation 102-1:
Substantial compliance must be achieved as to each of the Standards. Substantial compliance with each Standard is measured at the time a law school seeks provisional approval. Plans for construction, financing, library improvement, and recruitment of faculty which are presented by a law school seeking provisional approval do not, in themselves, constitute evidence of substantial compliance. (June 1978; 1994; August 1996)
Interpretation 102-2:
In order to establish that it has a reliable plan to come into full compliance with the Standards within three years after receiving provisional approval, a law school must clearly state the specific steps that it plans to take to bring itself into full compliance and must show that there is a reasonable probability that such steps will be successful.
Interpretation 102-23:
A law school seeking provisional approval may not offer a post-J.D. degree program. The primary focus of a school seeking provisional approval should be to do everything necessary to comply with the Standards for the J.D. degree program. (June 1991; 1994; August 1996)
Interpretation 102-34:
A student at a provisionally approved law school and an individual who graduates while the school is provisionally approved are entitled to the same recognition given to students and graduates of fully approved law schools. (August 1996)
Interpretation 102-45:
An approved law school may not retroactively grant a J.D. degree to a graduate of its predecessor unapproved institution. (May 1980; 1994; August 1996)
Interpretation 102-56:
A provisionally approved law school shall state in all of its printed and electronic materials generally describing the law school and its program and in any printed and electronic materials specifically targeted at prospective students that it is a provisionally approved law school. Similarly, when it refers to its approval status in publicity releases and communications with all students, applicants or other interested parties, it shall state that it is a provisionally approved law school. (August 1997; August 2003)
Interpretation 102-67:
An unapproved law school seeking provisional approval must include the following language in all of its printed and electronic materials generally describing the law school and its program and in any printed and electronic materials specifically targeted at prospective students:
The Dean is fully informed as to the Standards and Rules of Procedure for the Approval of Law Schools by the American Bar Association. The Administration and the Dean are determined to devote all necessary resources and in other respects to take all necessary steps to present a program of legal education that will qualify for approval by the American Bar Association. The Law School makes no representation to any applicant that it will be approved by the American Bar Association prior to the graduation of any matriculating student. (August 1997; August 2003)
Interpretation 102-78:
In most jurisdictions an individual cannot sit for the bar examination unless he or she has graduated from a law school fully or provisionally approved by the American Bar Association. However, the determination of qualifications and fitness to sit for the bar examination is made by the jurisdiction’s bar admission authorities. (August 1998)
Interpretation 102-89:
A law school seeking provisional approval shall not delay conferring a J.D. degree upon a student in anticipation of obtaining American Bar Association approval. (July 2000)
Interpretation 102-910:
An individual who matriculates at a law school that is provisionally approved or who is a student enrolled in a law school at the time it receives provisional approval and who completes the course of study and graduates from that school within a typical and reasonable period of time is deemed by the Council to be a graduate of an approved law school, even though the school loses its provisional approval status while the individual is enrolled in the school.(August 2003)
Standard 103. Full Approval
(a) A law school is shall be granted full approval only if it establishes that it is in full compliance with the Standards and it has been provisionally approved for not fewer than two years.
(b) If a determination is made that an approved law school is no longer in compliance with the Standards, and if it fails to take remedial action, the law school may be subjected to an appropriate sanction.
Interpretation 103-1:
An individual who matriculates at a law school that is then approved and who completes the course of study and graduates in the normal period of time required therefor is deemed by the Council to be a graduate of an approved school, even though the school’s approval was withdrawn while the individual was enrolled therein. (August 1996)
Interpretation 103-2:
“Sanctions” include, but are not limited to, censure, probation or removal of the school from the list of law schools approved by the Association. (August 1998)
Interpretation 103-3: In the case of an approval required as the consequence of a major change in organizational structure, the minimum time period of two years stated in this Standard may be modified and/or conditioned pursuant to Rule 19 of the Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools. (August 1998)
Standard 104. – No revisions are proposed to this Standard.
Standard 105. Major Change In Program Or Structure
Before a law school makes a major change in its program of legal education or organizational structure it shall obtain the acquiescence of the Council for the change. Subject to the additional requirements of subsections (1) and (2), acquiescence shall be granted only if the law school establishes that the change will not detract from the law school’s ability to meet the requirements of the Standards.
(1) If the proposed major change is the establishment of a degree program other than the J.D. degree, the law school must also establish that it meets the requirements of Standard 308.
(2) If the proposed major change involves instituting a new full-time or part-time division, merging or affiliating with one or more approved or unapproved law schools, acquiring another law school or educational institution, or opening a Branch or Satellite campus, the law school must also establish that the law school is in compliance with the Standards or that the proposed major change will substantially enhance the law school’s ability to comply with the Standards.
Interpretation 105-1:
Major changes in the program of legal education or the organizational structure of a law school include:
(1) Instituting a new full-time or part-time division;
(2) Changing from a full-time to a part-time program or from a part-time to a full-time program;
(3) Establishing a two-year undergraduate/four year law school or similar program;
(4) Establishing a new or different program leading to a degree other than the J.D. degree;
(5) A change in program length measurement from clock hours to credit hours;
(6) A substantial increase in the number of clock or credit hours that are required for graduation;
(7) Merging or affiliating with one or more approved or unapproved law schools;
(8) Merging or affiliating with one or more universities;
(9) Materially modifying the law school’s legal status or institutional relationship with a parent institution;
(10) Acquiring another law school or educational institution;
(11) Acquiring or merging with another university by the parent university where it appears that there may be substantial impact on the operation of the law school;
(12) Transferring all, or substantially all, of the academic program or assets of the approved law school to another law school or university;
(13) Opening of a Branch campus or Satellite campus.
(14) A change in control of the school resulting from a change in ownership of the school or a contractual arrangement; and
(15) A change in the location of the school that could result in substantial changes in the faculty, administration, student body or management of the school.
(August 1996; August 1997; August 1998; August 2001; February 2003;August 2003)
Interpretation 105-2:
The establishment of a Branch campus of an approved law school constitutes the creation of a different law school. Consequently, a Branch campus must have a permanent full-time faculty, an adequate working library, adequate support and administrative staff, and an adequate physical facilities and technological capacities. A Branch campus shall apply for provisional approval under the provisions of Standard 102 and Rule 4. (February 1979; August 1996)
Interpretation 105-3:
The establishment of a Satellite campus at which a law school offers no more than the first-year of its full-time program, or the first three semesters (or equivalent) of its part-time program, requires at least:
(1) Full-time faculty of the law school who teach substantially all of the curriculum offered at the Satellite campus and who are reasonably available at the Satellite campus for consultation with students;
(2) Library resources and staff at the Satellite campus that are adequate to support the curriculum offered at the Satellite campus and that are reasonably accessible to students at the Satellite campus;
(3) Academic advising, career services and other student support services that are adequate to support the program offered at the Satellite campus, that are reasonably equivalent to such services offered to similarly situated students at the law school’s main campus and that are offered in person at the Satellite campus or otherwise are reasonably accessible to students at the Satellite campus;
(4) That students attending the Satellite campus have access to the school’s co-curricular activities and other educational benefits on a roughly proportional basis; and
(5) Physical facilities and technological capacities at the Satellite campus that are adequate to support the curriculum offered at and the students attending the Satellite campus.
(February 2003)
Interpretation 105-4:
A law school that seeks to establish a Satellite campus at which it will offer courses beyond its first-year program must show that it can adequately support its program at the Satellite campus. It must establish at least:
(1) That students attending the Satellite campus have reasonable access to full-time faculty, library resources and staff, and academic advising, career services and other support services that are adequate to support the program that the law school offers at the Satellite campus and that are reasonably equivalent to the resources and services offered to similarly situated students at the law school’s main campus;
(2) That students attending the Satellite campus have access to the school’s co-curricular activities and other educational benefits on a roughly proportional basis; and
(3) That the physical facilities and technological capacities at the Satellite campus are adequate to support the curriculum offered at and the students attending the Satellite campus.
(February 2003)
Interpretation 105-5:
If a student would be able to take at a Satellite campus the equivalent of two-thirds or more of the credit hours that a law school requires for the award of the J.D. degree, all of the requirements set forth in Interpretation 105-2 apply to the establishment of such a Satellite campus except the requirement concerning provisional approval. (February 2003)
Interpretation 105-6:
The Council has delegated to the Accreditation Committee the authority to grant acquiescence in the types of major changes listed in Interpretations 105-1 (4), (5) and (6). (February 2003)
[If the proposed changes to Standard 105 are adopted, Rule 18 (p) of the Rules of Procedure for the Approval of Law Schools will be deleted]
Standard 106. – No revisions are proposed to this Standard.
Chapter 4
The Faculty
Standard 401. Qualifications
(a) A law school shall have a faculty that whose qualifications and experience are appropriate to the stated mission of the law school and to maintaining a program of legal education consistent with the requirements of Standards 301 and 302. The faculty shall possesses a high degree of competence, as demonstrated by its education, classroom teaching ability, experience in teaching or practice, teaching effectiveness, and scholarly research and writing.
(b) A law school shall take reasonable steps to ensure the teaching effectiveness of the faculty.
Interpretation 401-1:
A faculty committee on effective teaching, class visitations, critiques of videotaped teaching, institutional review of student evaluation of teaching, and colloquia are among the means to accomplish this objective.
Standard 402. Size Of Full-Time Faculty
(a) A law school shall have a sufficient number of full-time faculty to fulfill the requirements of the Standards and meet the needs goals of its educational program. The number of full-time faculty necessary depends on:
(1) the size of the student body and the opportunity for students to meet individually with and consult faculty members;
(2) the nature and scope of the educational program; and
(3) the opportunities for the faculty adequately to fulfill teaching obligations, conduct scholarly research, and participate effectively in the governance of the law school and in service to the legal profession and the public.
(b) A single division law school in its first year of operation shall have no fewer than six full time faculty members in addition to a full time dean and a full time director of the law library. A dual division law school, or a law school after its first year of operation, shall have additional faculty members.
(cb) A full-time faculty member is one whose primary professional employment is with the law school and who during the academic year devotes substantially all working time during the academic year to teaching and legal scholarship, participates in law school governance and service, has no outside office or business activities, the responsibilities described in Standard 404(a), and whose outside professional activities, if any, are limited to those that relate to major academic interests or enrich the faculty member’s capacity as scholar and teacher, are of service to the legal profession and the public generally, and do not unduly interfere with one’s responsibility as a faculty member.
Interpretation 402-1:
In determining whether a law school complies with the Standards, the ratio of the number of full-time equivalent students to the number of full-time equivalent faculty members is considered.
(1) In computing the student/faculty ratio, full-time equivalent teachers are those who are employed as full-time teachers on tenure track or its equivalent who shall be counted as one each plus those who constitute “additional teaching resources” as defined below. No limit is imposed on the total number of teachers that a school may employ as additional teaching resources, but these additional teaching resources shall be counted at a fraction of less than 1 and may constitute in the aggregate up to 20 percent of the full-time faculty for purposes of calculating the student/faculty ratio.
(A) Additional teaching resources and the proportional weight assigned to each category include:
(i) teachers on tenure track or its equivalent who have administrative duties beyond those normally performed by full-time faculty members: 0.5;
(ii) clinicians and legal writing instructors not on tenure track or its equivalent who teach a full load: 0.7; and
(iii) adjuncts, emeriti faculty who teach, non-tenure track administrators who teach, librarians who teach, and teachers from other units of the university: 0.2.
(B) These norms have been selected to provide a workable framework to recognize the effective contributions of additional teaching resources. To the extent a law school has types or categories of teachers not specifically described above, they shall be counted as appropriate in accordance with the weights specified above. It is recognized that the designated proportional weights may not in all cases reflect the contributions to the law school of particular teachers. In exceptional cases, a school may seek to demonstrate to site evaluation teams and the Accreditation Committee that these proportional weights should be changed to weigh contributions of individual teachers.
(2) For the purpose of computing the student/faculty ratio, a student is considered full-time or part-time as determined by the school for residence purpose for residence purposes, provided that no student who is enrolled in fewer than ten credit hours in a term shall be considered a full-time student, and no student enrolled in more than 13 credit hours shall be considered a part-time student. A part-time student is counted as a two-thirds equivalent student.
(3) If there are graduate or non-degree students whose presence might result in a dilution of J.D. program resources, the circumstances of the individual school are considered to determine the adequacy of the teaching resources available for the J.D. program.
(August 1999; July 2000)
Interpretation 402-2:
Student/faculty ratios are considered in determining a law school’s compliance with the Standards.
(1) A ratio of 20:1 or less presumptively indicates that a law school complies with the Standards. However, the educational effects shall be examined to determine whether the size and duties of the full-time faculty meet the Standards.
(2) A ratio of 30:1 or more presumptively indicates that a law school does not comply with the Standards.
(3) At a ratio of between 20:1 and 30:1 and to rebut the presumption created by a ratio of 30:1 or greater, the examination will take into account the effects of all teaching resources on the school’s educational program, including such matters as quality of teaching, class size, availability of small group classes and seminars, student/faculty contact, examinations and grading, scholarly contributions, public service, discharge of governance responsibilities, and the ability of the law school to carry out its announced mission. (August 1996)
Interpretation 402-3:
A full-time faculty member who is teaching an additional full-time load at another law school may not be considered as a full-time faculty member at either institution. (June 1992; 1994; August 1996)
Interpretation 402-4:
Regularly engaging in law practice, or having an ongoing relationship with a law firm or a other business, being named on a law firm letterhead, or having a professional telephone listing is prima facie evidence that an individual has “outside office or business activities” and creates a presumption that a faculty member is not a full-time faculty member under this Standard. If there is prima facie evidence that an individual is not a full-time faculty member, a law school shall This presumption may be rebutted if the law school is able to demonstrate that the individual has a full-time commitment to teaching, research, and public service, is available to students, and is able to participate in the governance of the institution to the same extent expected of full-time faculty. (June 1992; 1994; August 1996)
Standard 403. Instructional Role Of Full And Part-Time Faculty
(a) The major burden of a law school’s educational program rests upon the full-time faculty shall teach the major portion of the law school’s curriculum, including substantially all of the first one-third of each student’s coursework.
(b) The full-time faculty shall provide students with substantially all of their instruction in the first year of the full-time curriculum or the first two years of the part-time curriculum and a major portion of their total instruction. A law school shall ensure effective teaching by all persons providing instruction to students.
(c) A law school should include experienced practicing lawyers and judges as teaching resources to enrich the educational program. Appropriate use of practicing lawyers and judges as faculty requires that a law school shall provide them with orientation, guidance, monitoring, and evaluation. Interpretation 403-1:
The full-time faculty’s teaching responsibility will usually be determined by the proportion of student credit hours taught by full-time faculty in each of the law school’s programs or divisions (such as full-time, part-time evening study, and part-time weekend study).
Interpretation 403-2:
Efforts to ensure teaching effectiveness may include: a faculty committee on effective teaching, class visitations, critiques of videotaped teaching, institutional review of student evaluation of teaching, colloquia on effective teaching, and recognition of creative scholarship in law school teaching methodology. A law school shall provide all new faculty members with orientation, guidance, mentoring, and periodic evaluation.
Standard 404. Responsibilities Of Full-Time Faculty
(a) A law school shall establish policies with respect to a full-time faculty member’s responsibilities in teaching, scholarship, service to the law school community, and professional activities outside the law school. The policies need not seek uniformity among faculty members, but should address:
(1) Faculty teaching responsibilities, including carrying a fair share of the law school’s course offerings, preparing for classes, being available for student consultation, participating in academic advising, and creating an atmosphere in which students and faculty may voice opinions and exchange ideas;
(2) Research and scholarship, and integrity in the conduct of scholarship, including appropriate use of student research assistants, acknowledgment of the contributions of others, and responsibility of faculty members to keep abreast of developments in their specialties;
(3) Obligations to the law school and university community, including participation in the governance of the law school;
(4) Obligations to the profession, including working with the practicing bar and judiciary to improve the profession; and
(5) Obligations to the public, including participation in pro bono activities.
(b) A law school shall evaluate periodically the extent to which all each faculty members discharges their her or his responsibilities under policies adopted pursuant to Standard 404(a).
Standard 405. PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENT
(a) A law school shall establish and maintain conditions adequate to attract and retain a competent faculty.
(b) A law school shall have an established and announced policy with respect to academic freedom and tenure of which Appendix I herein is an example but is not obligatory. (c) A law school shall afford to full-time clinical faculty members a form of security of position reasonably similar to tenure, and non-compensatory perquisites reasonably similar to those provided other full-time faculty members. A law school may require these faculty members to meet standards and obligations reasonably similar to those required of other full-time faculty members. However, this Standard does not preclude a limited number of fixed, short-term appointments in a clinical program predominantly staffed by full-time faculty members, or in an experimental program of limited duration.
(d) A law school shall afford legal writing teachers such security of position and other rights and privileges of faculty membership as may be necessary to (1) attract and retain a faculty that is well qualified to provide legal writing instruction as required by Standard 302(a)(2), and (2) safeguard academic freedom. Interpretation 405-1:
A fixed limit on the percent of a law faculty that may hold tenure under any circumstances violates the Standards. (February 1973; August 1996) Interpretation 405-2:
A law faculty as professionals should not be required to be a part of the general university bargaining unit. (July 1975; May 1980; 1995; August 1996) Interpretation 405-3:
A law school shall have a comprehensive system for evaluating candidates for promotion and tenure or other forms of security of position, including written criteria and procedures that are made available to the faculty. (August 1978;1995;August 1996)
Interpretation 405-4:
A law school not a part of a university in considering and deciding on appointment, termination, promotion, and tenure of faculty members should have procedures that contain the same principles of fairness and due process that should be employed by a law school that is part of a university. If the dean and faculty have made a recommendation that is unfavorable to a candidate, the candidate should be given an opportunity to appeal to the president, chairman, or governing board. (May 1980; 1995; August 1996) Interpretation 405-5:
If the dean and faculty have determined the question of responsibility for examination schedules and the schedule has been announced by the authority responsible for it, it is not a violation of academic freedom for a member of the law faculty to be required to adhere to the schedule. (August 1979; August 1996)
Interpretation 405-6:
A form of security of position reasonably similar to tenure includes a separate tenure track or a program of renewable long-term contracts a renewable long-term contract. Under a separate tenure track, a full-time clinical faculty member, after a probationary period reasonably similar to that for other full-time faculty, may be granted tenure. After tenure is granted, the faculty member may be terminated only for good cause, including termination or material modification of the entire clinical program.
A program of renewable long-term contracts shall should provide that, after a probationary period reasonably similar to that for other full-time faculty, during which the clinical faculty member may be employed on short-term contracts, the services of a faculty member in a clinical program may be either terminated or continued by the granting of a long-term renewable contract that shall thereafter be renewable. For the purposes of this Interpretation, “long-term contract” means at least a five-year contract that is presumptively renewable or other arrangement sufficient to ensure academic freedom. During the initial long-term contract or any renewal period, the contract may be terminated for good cause, including termination or material modification of the entire clinical program. (August 1984; August 1996; August 2001)
Interpretation 405-7:
In determining if the members of the full-time clinical faculty meet standards and obligations reasonably similar to those provided for other full-time faculty, competence in the areas of teaching and scholarly research and writing should be judged in terms of the responsibilities of clinical faculty. A law school should develop criteria for retention, promotion, and security of employment of full-time clinical faculty. (August 1984; August 1996)
Interpretation 405-8:
A law school shall afford to full-time clinical faculty members participation an opportunity to participate in faculty meetings, committees, and other aspects of law school governance in a manner reasonably similar to other full-time faculty members. This Interpretation does not apply to those persons referred to in the last sentence of Standard 405(c). (December 1988; August 1996)
Interpretation 405-9:
Subsection (d) of this Standard does not preclude the use of short-term or non-renewal contracts for legal writing teachers, nor does it preclude law schools from offering fellowship programs designed to produce candidates for full-time teaching by offering individuals supervised teaching experience. (August 2001)
Chapter 6
Library And Information Resources
Standard 601. General Provisions
(a) A law school shall maintain a law library that is an active and responsive force in the educational life of the law school. A law library’s effective support of the school’s teaching, scholarship, research and service programs requires a direct, continuing, and informed relationship with the faculty, students, and administration of the law school.
(b) A law library shall have sufficient financial resources to support the law school’s teaching, scholarship, research, and service programs. These resources shall be supplied on a consistent basis.
(c) A law school shall keep its library abreast of contemporary technology and adopt it when appropriate.
Interpretation 601-1:
Cooperative agreements may be considered when determining whether faculty and students have efficient and effective access to the resources necessary to meet the law school’s educational needs. Standard 601 is not satisfied solely by arranging for students and faculty to have access to other law libraries within the region, or by providing electronic access. (August 1995; August 1996)
Standard 602. Administration
(a) A law school shall have sufficient administrative autonomy to direct the growth and development of the law library and to control the use of its resources.
(b) The dean and the director of the law library, in consultation with the faculty of the law school, shall determine library policy.
(c) The directory of the law library and the dean are responsible for the selection and retention of personnel, the provision of library services, and collection development and maintenance.
(d) The budget for the law library should be determined as part of, and administered in the same manner as, the law school budget.
Interpretation 602-1:
This Standard recognizes that substantial operating autonomy rests with the dean, the director of the law library and the faculty of a law school with regard to the operation of the law school library. The Standards require that decisions that materially affect the law library be enlightened by the needs of the law school educational program. This envisions law library participation in university library decisions that may affect the law library. While the preferred structure for administration of a law school library is one of law school administration, a law school library may be administered as part of a general university library system if the dean, the director of the law library, and faculty are responsible for the determination of basic law library policies. (August 1995; August 1996)
Standard 603. Director Of The Law Library
(a) A law library shall be administered by a full-time director whose principal responsibility is the management of the law library. (b) The selection and retention of the director of the law library shall be determined by the law school.
(c) A director of a law library should have a law degree and a degree in library or information science and shall have a sound knowledge of and experience in library administration.
(d) Except in extraordinary circumstances, a law library director shall hold a law faculty appointment with security of faculty position.
Interpretation 603-1:
The director of the law library is responsible for all aspects of the management of the law library including budgeting, staff, collections, services and facilities. (August 1995; August 1996)
Interpretation 603-2:
The dean and faculty of the law school shall select the director of the law library. (August 1995; August 1996)
Interpretation 603-3:
The granting of faculty appointment to the director of the law library under this Standard normally is a tenure or tenure-track appointment. If a director is granted tenure, this tenure is not in the administrative position of director. (August 1995; August 1996)
Interpretation 603-4:
It is not a violation of Standard 603(a) for the director of the law library also to have other administrative or teaching responsibilities, provided sufficient resources and staff support are available to ensure effective management of library operations.
Standard 604. Personnel A law school and its The law library shall have a competent staff, sufficient in number to provide appropriate library and informational resource services.
Interpretation 604-1:
Factors relevant to the number of librarians and informational resource staff needed to meet this Standard include the following: the number of faculty and students, research programs of faculty and students, a dual division program in the school, graduate programs of the school, size and growth rate of the collection, range of services offered by the staff, formal teaching assignments of staff members, and responsibilities for providing informational resource services. (August 1995; August 1996; July 2000)
Standard 605. Services
A law library shall provide the appropriate range and depth of reference, instructional, bibliographic, and other services to meet the needs of the law school’s teaching, scholarship, research, and service programs.
Interpretation 605-1:
Appropriate services include having adequate reference services, providing intellectual access (such as indexing, cataloging, and development of search terms and methodologies) to the library’s collection and other information resources, offering interlibrary loan and other forms of document delivery, enhancing the research and bibliographic skills of students, producing library publications, and creating other services to further the law school’s mission. (August 1995; August 1996)
Standard 606. Collection
(a) A law library collection, including printed sources, microforms, audio visual works, and access to electronic informational resources, shall:
(1) meet the research needs of the law school’s students, satisfy the demands of the law school curriculum, and facilitate the education of its students:
(2) support the teaching, research, and service interests of the faculty; and
(3) serve the school’s special teaching, research, and service objectives.
(a) The law library shall provide a core collection of essential materials accessible in the law library.
(b) A law library shall provide within the law school’s facilities, through ownership or reliable access, a core collection of essential materials.
(b) In addition to the core collection of essential materials, a law library shall also provide a collection that, through ownership or reliable access,
(1) meets the research needs of the law school’s students, satisfies the demands of the law school curriculum, and facilitates the education of its students;
(2) supports the teaching, scholarship, research and service interests of the faculty; and
(3) serves the law school’s special teaching, scholarship, research, and service objectives.
(c) A law library shall also provide additional collections, equipment, and services which are reasonably up to date and sufficient in quality, level, scope, and quantity to support fully the law school’s programs.
(dc) A law library shall maintain formulate and periodically update a written plan for development of the collection.
(ed) A law library shall provide suitable space and adequate equipment to access and use all information in whatever formats are represented in the collection.
Interpretation 606-1:
All materials necessary to the programs of the law school shall be complete and current and in sufficient quantity or with sufficient access to meet faculty and student needs. The library shall iensure continuing access to all information necessary to the law school’s programs. (August 1995; August 1996)
Interpretation 606-2:
A library shall acquire additional copies or provide sufficient access to materials that are heavily used. (August 1995; August 1996)
Interpretation 606-32:
At present, no single publishing medium (electronic, print, microform, or audio- visual) provides sufficient access to the breadth and depth of recorded knowledge and information needed to bring a law school into compliance with Standard 606. A a a collection that consists of a single format may violate Standard 606. (August 1995; August 1996)
Interpretation 606-43:
Agreements for the sharing of information resources, except for the core collection, satisfy Standard 606 if:
(1) T the agreements are in writing; and
(2) T the agreements provide faculty and students with the ease of access and availability necessary to support the programs of the law school. However, these cooperative relationships cannot be a substitute for a school’s responsibility to provide its own adequate and accessible core collection and services.
(August 1995; August 1996)
Interpretation 606-54:
Off-site storage for non-essential material does not violate the Standards so long as the material is organized and readily accessible in a timely manner. (August 1995; August 1996)
Interpretation 606-65:
A law library core collection shall include the following:
(1) all reported federal court decisions and reported decisions of the highest appellate court of each state;
(2) all federal codes and session laws, and at least one current annotated code for each state;
(3) all current published treaties and international agreements of the United States;
(4) all current published regulations (codified and uncodified) of the federal government and the codified regulations of the state in which the law school is located;
(5) those federal and state administrative decisions appropriate to the programs of the law school;
(6) U.S. Congressional materials appropriate to the programs of the law school;
(7) significant secondary works necessary to support the programs of the law school; and
(8) those tools, such as citators and periodical indexes, necessary to identify primary and secondary legal information and update primary legal information.
(August 1995; August 1996)
Interpretation 606-7:
The format of the core material depends on the needs of the library and its clientele. (August 1995; August 1996)
Interpretation 606-86:
The dean, faculty, and director of the law library should cooperate in formulation of the collection development plan. (August 1995; August 1996)
Interpretation 606-97:
This Standard requires the law library to furnish the equipment to print microform and electronic documents and to view and listen to audio-visual materials in the collection. (August 1995; August 1996)
Chapter 7
Facilities
Standard 701. General Requirements
A law school shall have physical facilities and technological capacities that are adequate both for its current program of legal education and for growth anticipated in the immediate future.
Interpretation 701-1:
Inadequate physical facilities are those which that have a negative and material effect on the education students receive or fail to provide reasonable access for persons with disabilities. If equal access for persons with disabilities is not readily achievable, the law school shall provide reasonable accommodation to such persons. (August 1996)
Interpretation 701-2:
Adequate physical facilities shall include:
(1) suitable class and seminar rooms in sufficient number and size to permit reasonable scheduling of all classes and seminars;
(2) suitable space for conducting its professional skills courses and programs, including clinical, pretrial, trial, and appellate programs;
(3) an office for each full-time faculty member adequate for faculty study and for faculty-student conferences, and sufficient office space for part-time faculty members adequate for faculty-student conferences;
(4) space for co-curricular, as opposed to extra-curricular, activities as defined by the law school;
(5) suitable space for all staff; and
(6) suitable space for equipment and records in proximity to the individuals and offices served.
(August 1996; July 2000)
Interpretation 701-3:
To obtain full approval, a law school’s facilities shall be completed and occupied by the law school; plans or construction in progress are insufficient. (May 1977; July 1977; August 1977; August 1996; August 2001)
Interpretation 701-4:
A law school must demonstrate that it is and will be housed in facilities that are adequate to carry out its program of legal education. If facilities are leased or financed, factors relevant to whether the law school is or will be housed in facilities that are adequate include overall lease or financing terms and duration, lease renewal terms, termination or foreclosure provisions, and the security of the school’s interest. (August 2001) Interpretation 701-5:
A law school’s physical facilities should be under the exclusive control and reserved for the exclusive use of the law school. If the facilities are not under the exclusive control of the law school or are not reserved for its exclusive use, the arrangements shall permit proper scheduling of all law classes and other law school activities. (August 1996; August 2001)
Standard 702. Law Library
The physical facilities for the law library shall be sufficient in size, location, and design in relation to the law school’s programs and enrollment to accommodate the law school’s students and faculty and the law library’s services, collections, staff, operations, and equipment. Interpretation 702-1:
A law library shall have sufficient seating to meet the needs of the law school’s students and faculty. (August 1996)
Standard 703. Research And Study Space
A law school shall provide, on site, sufficient quiet study and research seating for its students and faculty. A law school should provide space that is suitable for group study and other forms of collaborative work.
Standard 704. Technological Capacities
A law school shall have the technological capacities that are adequate for both its current program of legal education and for program changes anticipated in the immediate future.
Interpretation 704-1:
Inadequate technological capacities are those that have a negative and material effect on the education students receive.
Interpretation 704-2:
Adequate technological capacity shall include:
(1) sufficient and up-to-date hardware and software resources and infrastructure to support the teaching, scholarship, research, service and administrative needs of the school;
(2) sufficient staff support and space for staff operations;
(3) sufficient financial resources to adopt and maintain
