History and Government Faculty Publications

Should CSWE Allow Social Work Programs in Religious Institutions an Exemption from the Accreditation Nondiscrimination Standard Related to Sexual Orientation? Yes!

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 1996

Journal Title

Journal of Social Work Education

Volume

32

Issue

3

First Page

297

Last Page

304

Abstract

The article discusses the suitability of Council on Social Work Education's (CSWE) social work programs in religious institutions an exemption from the accreditation nondiscrimination standard related to sexual orientation. The proposal suggests that eligibility criteria and standards be revised in regard to an institution's nondiscrimination and affirmative action policies. If the CSWE Board of Directors approves the Commission on Accreditation's (COA's) recommendation, policies that currently address race, color, religion, creed, gender, ethnic or national origin, disability, and age would be revised to include political and sexual orientation. The requirement to include sexual orientation in a program's nondiscrimination statement has been a source of pride and concern for the profession since the 1982 standards. The social work community understood when these standards were promulgated that to require institutions to include political and sexual orientation violated their religious rights.

Keywords

Social work, CSWE, standards, sexual orientation

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