A legal education doesn't necessarily begin on a law school campus.

At least 200 high schools across the country offer a curriculum organized around law and justice, according to a new directory compiled by the Law School Admission Council and Street Law, a nonprofit group centered on educating young people about the legal system. Those schools vary in their focus—some are dedicated to policing and corrections, while others emphasize public service, leadership and related topics.

It's the first time national data has been compiled on law-focused high schools, and organizers hope the directory will help administrators at the high school level connect and share resources. They also hope that law school admissions offices will use the directory to recruit students—an avenue that could help improve the diversity of the law school student body.

"The majority of these schools serve students of color and students from under-resourced communities," said Street Law executive director Lee Arbetman in an announcement of the directory. "Together, Street Law and LSAC can help improve practices at these schools. This can help move the needle on civic learning, which strengthens our democracy, and on the pipeline to the legal profession, which supports the profession's need for more diversity."

It will also help high schoolers with an interest in the law to find law-focused programs in their area, and the options are increasing, according to Arbetman. The directory shows such high schools are clustered in certain states. Maryland has the most, at 32. Georgia has the next highest tally at 20, followed closely by Kansas with 19.

There are 16 law-focused high schools in California; 15 in Florida; eight in Texas; five in New Jersey and three in Pennsylvania.

Among the 18 law-focused high schools in New York is the Charter High School for Law and Social Justice, which opened its doors in the Bronx in 2015. It remains the only high school campus cosponsored by a law school. New York Law School professor Richard Marsico helped establish the high school and the Manhattan law school remains involved in teaching its students. Every week, law students enrolled in the New York Law School's Street Law clinic travel to the Bronx to teach the high schoolers about criminal law. That's just one of the law-focused aspects of the curriculum, Marsico said. Incoming ninth graders complete a summer program that offers a foundation in the American legal system. In addition to a trial and jury class, the school will soon start offering a course on community service.

"Street Law is a model for all legal education," Marsico said of the program that sends law students and professors into classrooms to teach middle and high school students about the law. "It's totally hands-on. It's project based. It's a really positive program and we get great feedback from the [high school] about it. The charter school students are engaged and are pushed to think critically. They have a high amount of interest in the material and they love that it's taught by law students."

The high school students are particularly interested in criminal law and constitutional law, especially as it pertains to the rights of students, Marsico added. He said he was surprised and pleased to learn there are so many other law-focused high school campuses in the country, and that the new directory will be a useful tool.

The Charter School of Law and Social Justice in May graduated its first class, and Marsico said he hopes at least some of those graduates will continue on to law school after completing their undergraduate degrees.

Expanding the pipeline of students into law school is one reason why LSAC helped put the directory together, according to president Kellye Testy.

"LSAC's mission is centered on improving access to legal education and adding to the diversity of the legal profession," she said. "Students are making decisions at a younger age about whether to pursue a law career, and we want to be there to support them along their prelaw journey. By offering ways for students, teachers, and law schools to connect through tools like this directory, we are able to strengthen the legal community and society as a whole."