The American Bar Association is on the precipice of losing its power to accredit law schools after a federal advisory panel declined to take a position on whether to strip the group of that influential role. The decision on the association’s accrediting power now rests with Nicholas Kent, the No. 2 official at the Education Department, who has been a key enforcer of the Trump administration’s bid to reshape academia. Mr. Kent has 90 days to decide whether to oust the group from its perch as the country’s gatekeeper of legal education, a role it has held since the 1950s.

Stripping the nation’s largest association of lawyers of its accrediting ability would be a significant blow to a group that has battled the Trump administration over its punishment of law firms. A law school must be accredited under federal law for students to have access to billions of dollars in federal aid. The bar association oversees about 200 juris doctorate programs in the country.

Earlier this month, Education Department employees urged the advisory panel to recommend stripping the role from the accreditation arm of the bar group. The agency argued that the accreditation arm had failed to demonstrate that it was operating on a “separate and independent” basis from the larger association. The panel remained deadlocked after two days of hearings, ultimately agreeing on Thursday to send no recommendation to Mr. Kent.

Later on Thursday, the advisory panel voted to recommend that Mr. Kent suspend accreditation power for one year from the American Psychological Association, citing concerns about antisemitism. Melissa Hart, the chairwoman of the bar association’s accreditation agency, said the group would continue to work with the Education Department.