The advocacy fight to keep anti-discrimination language in the Social Work Code of Conduct in Texas continued over the summer.
Social work voices across the state and nation helped the Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC) retain anti-discrimination language regarding disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in the Texas Social Work Code of Conduct in October 2020.
Now, the fight continues after the Texas attorney general issued a nonbinding legal opinion on June 14, 2021, that states the Texas State Board of Social Work Examiners (TSBSWE) may not adopt a Code of Conduct more expansive than the nondiscrimination clause currently in the state statute.
NASW and the NASW Texas Chapter called on the social workers to share their stories with the TSBSWE in an open Zoom meeting in July. NASW said it needed as many voices as possible to ask the TSBSWE to adhere to the NASW Code of Ethics and maintain anti-discrimination language in the Code of Conduct.