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Committee gives favorable report to bill removing exam requirement for bachelor’s and master’s social work licensure
Summary
The Maryland House Health and Government Operations Committee voted to give House Bill 1521 a favorable report, removing the national exam requirement for bachelor’s- and master’s-level social work licensure while keeping the exam for clinical licenses and adding two consumer members to the State Board of Social Work Examiners.
The Health and Government Operations Committee on Monday gave a favorable report to House Bill 1521, a measure that would repeal the requirement that applicants for licensure as a bachelor’s social worker or a master’s social worker pass a national examination as a condition of receiving a Maryland license. The committee also approved increasing the State Board of Social Work Examiners’ membership from 12 to 14 by adding two consumer members.
The bill drew most of its discussion from Vice Chair Collison, who summarized the work group’s yearlong review of pathways to licensure and urged the committee to move the measure forward. “This test is a test of memory … it is not a clinical test at all,” Collison said, arguing the national exam duplicates what graduates already demonstrate through their degree programs and noting the work group’s majority of licensed social workers supported the change.
The bill would leave the examination requirement in place for certified social workers and certified clinical social workers; those clinical licenses would still require the State Board’s prescribed exam. Collison told the committee the work group will continue through June to develop alternative pathways to licensure for bachelor’s- and master’s-level applicants.
Committee members questioned the national test developer’s response to concerns about racial disparities. Collison told members the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) published a study about four years ago showing racial disparities in pass rates and has acknowledged that several states have eliminated the exam requirement for some licenses. She said ASWB has discussed a modular redesign of the test scheduled for 2026 that would allow retaking individual modules, but that modular testing would not change Maryland’s current rule that requires passing the exam to obtain compact privileges.
Delegate Hutchinson asked whether ASWB was correcting bias in its exam. Collison said ASWB has not corrected the problem in the past four years and described a proposed modular approach for 2026, but noted the modular plan would still prevent applicants who have not passed the exam from obtaining compact mobility. Delegate Johnson sought confirmation that bachelor’s and master’s applicants under the bill would still be licensed and subject to Board oversight; Collison and the committee analyst confirmed they would be licensed by the State Board of Social Work Examiners.
Committee members also discussed other states that have removed the exam requirement. Collison cited ASWB’s list that includes Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and Utah as having eliminated the exam requirement for one or more social work licenses.
After discussion, Vice Chair Collison moved the bill. The motion was seconded and the committee approved the bill by voice vote; Delegates Hutchinson and Kipke registered opposition by raised hand. Several committee members, including Delegate Woods and Delegate Riley, were recorded as excused.
The measure will now proceed to the House floor. The work group that has been studying licensure pathways will continue through June to recommend an alternative pathway for bachelor’s- and master’s-level licensure.
