Section 17.01 - Tennessee Law Schools(a) Tennessee-Approved Law Schools Not Seeking ABA Accreditation. Tennessee law schools that are not ABA-accredited or seeking ABA accreditation and that are currently approved by this Board and such approval is not subject to obtaining full ABA accreditation ("Tennessee-Approved Law School") shall remain approved so long as the school continues to comply with the requirements of this Rule as it may be amended and any standards adopted by the Board and approved by the Supreme Court.(b) Law Schools in Tennessee Seeking ABA-Accreditation.(1) The Board may recommend approval to the Supreme Court of any law school in Tennessee for the purpose of allowing its graduates to be eligible for admission in Tennessee if the law school is seeking provisional accreditation, and pending full accreditation by the ABA. The Supreme Court shall certify or deny the Board's recommendation to approve the law school by written order.(2) The recommendation of the Board to the Supreme Court shall be subject to a site evaluation as provided in section 17.03. Until the ABA grants such provisional accreditation, the law school shall be considered a Tennessee-Approved Law School, as provided herein.(3) Law schools in Tennessee that are seeking provisional accreditation from the ABA but that are not yet provisionally approved are subject to all of the requirements of a Tennessee-Approved Law School.(4) Graduates of law schools provisionally or fully accredited by the ABA ("ABA Law School") are eligible to seek admission in Tennessee.(c) Law Schools Seeking Approval of Substantial Change. Whether or not physically located in Tennessee, if an ABA Law School requests approval of a substantial change from the ABA for purposes of opening a law school branch in Tennessee or moving an ABA Law School to Tennessee, the branch or relocated law school shall be treated as a new law school in Tennessee seeking ABA accreditation as provided in paragraph (b), above.(d) Graduates of Tennessee-Approved Law Schools. Graduates of Tennessee-Approved Law Schools are eligible to seek admission in Tennessee.(e) Notices from the ABA Regarding Compliance with Standards or Status of Accreditation.(1) Reporting Requirements for ABA Law Schools in Tennessee. Upon receipt of notice from the ABA that an ABA-accredited law school located in Tennessee is out of compliance with the ABA standards or that the accreditation status of the law school has changed, the law school shall furnish to the Board copies of the notice and such documentation as the Board may request, including self-study analyses and evaluation reports, prepared, completed or received in connection with such school's accreditation status with the ABA. All documentation provided to the Board shall be confidential in order to ensure a frank, candid exchange of information.(2) ABA Law Schools that are not approved for provisional accreditation by the ABA, do not achieve full accreditation or lose their ABA accreditation will not be recommended for approval to the Supreme Court by the Board until a new application or similar process for provisional or renewed accreditation has been initiated with the ABA, subject to a site evaluation as provided in section 17.03, below.(f) Statement of Accreditation or Approval Status.(1) In its catalogs or other informational material distributed to prospective students, a law school shall state whether it is accredited by the ABA or has been approved by the Board pursuant to section 17.01 of this Rule.(2) Any law school in Tennessee that falsely advertises in its catalog or otherwise that it has been accredited by the ABA or approved by the Board shall be recognized by the Board as a substandard school and will be so classified and disapproved. Students of a substandard school shall not be eligible for admission in Tennessee.(g) Substandard Law Schools. (1) Any law school located in or seeking to locate in Tennessee (whether offering a full-time or part-time in-person or distance-learning curriculum), which permits the enrollment of students without first having obtained the written approval of the Supreme Court as provided in section 17.01, shall be classified as a substandard school. (2) Any ABA-Accredited Law School or Tennessee-Approved Law School that loses its accreditation or provisional approval and does not seek reinstatement of such accreditation or provisional approval shall be classified as a substandard school.(3) Graduates at law schools that are not ABA-accredited or Tennessee-Approved shall be barred from admission in Tennessee unless the student meets the requirements of section 2.02(d) or section 7.01 of this Rule.Adopted by Order filed and effective 3/29/2019; amended by Order filed and effective 4/26/2019; and as amended by order filed and effective 10/31/2023.