The proposed new public law school of the University of North Texas is coming up for a vote of the Texas Legislature again this legislative session, and none to late. The funding bill for the law school past the Texas Senate the last time around, but failed in the House for technical reasons. Since the Texas legislature meets only for a few months every two years, this time is critical if the law school is going to start accepting its first students for the 2010-11 school year.
The costs to get the new law school off of the ground? More than $60 million. The law school board is asking the Texas legislature for $40 million. The city of Dallas, Texas, where the law school will be located is expected to kick in an additional $16 million, which mainly includes providing the school the old Dallas City Hall and an adjacent block in the central business district, and issuing bond for the remodel of the building.
UNT Law is expected to be administered under the universities new Dallas campus, under construction, after 5 years, but in the meantime, until the UNT Dallas campus has been a stand alone university for 5 years, the law school will be operated by a separate board.
Cynthia Hall, director of external affairs for the UNT System, staed that "we're meeting with not only our elected officials, but also the American Bar Association to follow the steps to get accredited".
Dallas-Fort Worth is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the nation, and it does not have a public law school. Although, there is SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas and Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in Fort Worth.
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