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Published on : September 15, 2025
CSWE Statement on Legislative Changes
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is closely monitoring federal and state-level legislation that may impact accreditation in social work education. We are aware that several states have enacted or proposed legislation that limits or prohibits content related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in both implicit and explicit curricula.
CSWE and its Board of Accreditation (BOA) do not request and will not require any program to violate any enacted laws in order to maintain or achieve accreditation. Programs are expected to engage with appropriate institutional counsel to ensure legal compliance.
CSWE accreditation standards are designed to provide a framework that ensures high-quality social work education across diverse institutional, geographic, and political contexts. They do not require programs to submit demographic or identity-based data on students, faculty, field instructors, or field placements. Nor do the standards prescribe a singular approach to curriculum delivery or content related to theories of DEI.
Instead, the accreditation standards emphasize educational outcomes that require programs to demonstrate that graduates are prepared with the knowledge, values, skills, and cognitive and affective processes for professional practice with clients and communities from any and all backgrounds. This expectation of competence reflects the focus and core values of social work: to promote dignity, human rights, and social justice. How a program chooses to achieve these competencies should be within the boundaries of federal and state law and will vary according to institutional mission, student population, and local context.
To that end, programs facing challenges in aligning their curriculum with both the accreditation standards and enacted legislation are strongly encouraged to:
- review our online resources that provide examples and interpretive guidance, and
- reach out to their program’s CSWE accreditation specialist or fellowship manager to discuss options and receive individualized guidance.
CSWE is committed to transparency and dialogue with social work programs across the United States, its territories, and its protectorates. The BOA will continue to monitor and evaluate these important issues and will provide additional guidance and updates after October 2025 BOA meeting.
CSWE remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring social work graduates across the country are educated to the highest professional standards and prepared to lead with knowledge, skill, and integrity. We will continue to support programs as they navigate policy changes and legislative developments by providing communication, resources, and partnership to prepare the next generation of social workers for professional practice.