GAIL HERIOT: “If you have ever wondered why colleges and universities seem to march in lockstep on controversial issues like affirmative action, here is one reason: Overly politicized accrediting agencies often demand it.”

She thinks the Education Department needs to rein in the American Bar Association. I don’t really understand why the ABA is in the accreditation business to begin with. (Via The Volokh Conspiracy). Here’s a question — and it’s a real question, because this isn’t my area of the law. If, as it seems, the ABA is pressuring schools to violate the law in the name of diversity, why isn’t it vulnerable to a civil-rights conspiracy claim? And couldn’t such a claim be brought by students who are not admitted to schools of their choice because of affirmative action? Is this more of a stretch than some of the other civil rights claims that are brought in the context of admissions, etc.?