Senate approves bill waiving exam requirement for social worker licensure after heated debate

The Utah Senate on Feb. 23 passed first substitute House Bill 250, a measure that removes a specific examination requirement for social worker licensure while leaving existing education and supervised-hours requirements in place.

Sen. Curtis S. Bramble, the bill sponsor, said the change is meant to address a shortage of licensed social workers and remove barriers to licensure for candidates — including refugees and others who face language obstacles. "Waiving the exam requirement will allow... there’s still all the other licensing requirements," Bramble said, adding the bill does not change the requirement of 3,000 supervised hours before full licensure.

Opponents raised concerns on the Senate floor about lowering professional standards and the absence of robust data documenting the problem. Sen. Wyler said he had been contacted by members of the DOPL licensing board who oppose the bill and that he was "going to be voting no" because of serious concerns about the legislation. Sen. Plumb cited pass-rate disparities presented in committee — "first time pass rate for example for a white person was 78 percent and for black person was 55 percent and Hispanic or Latino person was 47 percent" — and said those gaps suggest flaws in the exam.

Supporters framed the vote as deregulatory workforce policy. Sen. Kennedy described the burden on graduates who carry heavy student debt and face additional exam fees: "If you're $40,000 in debt and you have to pay another $200 for a test... that was a lot of money." Sen. Escamilla and other backers argued evidence of bias in the test justified removing it as a gate to practice.

The Senate recorded 21 ayes and 2 nays with 6 senators absent. The bill will be transmitted back to the House for further consideration.

What’s next: the House will receive the amended measure and decide whether to concur; sponsors and opponents on the floor requested additional information and, in some cases, further data from licensing authorities.