BACB’s March 2025 Newsletter

“Recently, anti-DEI initiatives have gained traction across the US through state laws, regulatory activity, and federal executive orders. The BACB has invested years of effort to ensure that its certification programs are widely recognized by funders and state licensure programs. Maintaining this recognition is essential to protecting the value of these credentials for certificants and the consumers they serve. However, incorporating DEI content in our upcoming requirements may jeopardize this widespread recognition…To address these concerns while maintaining the integrity of training requirements, the BACB Board of Directors authorized an SME study of the upcoming changes.” “After reviewing the 2027 requirements and discussing the original SME recommendations in light of current circumstances, the committee unanimously recommended the following revisions, which the BACB Board of Directors also unanimously approved.”

“The originally planned CEU category requirement on DEI has been removed.”

Behaviorbabe’s Personal Statement

(3/25/25) The BACB - Behavior Analyst Certification Board's decision to remove explicit DEI requirements from the 2027 coursework and CEU standards (BACB, March 2025 Newsletter) is deeply disappointing. As someone who has spent years in this field advocating for meaningful, ethical, and culturally responsive care, I view the integration of DEI content as a long-overdue and essential evolution. This wasn’t about politics—it was about preparing practitioners to serve all clients with the dignity, nuance, and respect they deserve. Stripping that content out, even under the guise of protecting certification recognition, sends the wrong message: that external pressure outweighs ethical progress. It’s frustrating to see our national certification board back away from growth in order to maintain comfort with regulators and funders. I’ve seen firsthand how inadequate training harms families, misguides practitioners, and perpetuates disparities. DEI isn’t an “extra”—it’s core to doing this work well. If we truly care about client-centered, individualized, and effective services, we can’t afford to make equity optional. I remain committed to elevating this conversation and to teaching, mentoring, and modeling the kind of practice our clients—and our field—actually need. Let us not allow political climates to dictate the ethical foundations of our practice.

BABA’s 6 Point Plan to Move Forward with Community First

  1. Continue Offering and Attending DEI and Liberation-Focused Training

  2. Strengthen Liberation-Centered Approaches in Your Own Work

  3. Support and Promote DEI & Liberation Advocates in the Field

  4. Leverage Alternative Certification and Accreditation Bodies

  5. Build Collective Power and Coalition

  6. Organize and Mobilize Against Anti-DEI Policies

“The removal of explicit DEI requirements does not change the reality that bias, discrimination, and systemic barriers exist within behavior analysis, it simply allows practitioners to ignore them. BABA refuses to participate in this erasure” (3/24/25).

Excerpt from: Black Applied Behavior Analysts (BABA) Response to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) Removal of DEI Requirements*