To the Directors of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board,

We are a group of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Professionals, including Board Certified Behavior Analysts, Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts, and Registered Behavior Technicians, calling on the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) to make a statement denouncing racial injustice in response to recent national events surrounding the death of George Floyd.

The BACB leads the profession in developing and disseminating the ethical ideals of our field. We acknowledge that the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code contains language explicitly prohibiting racial (and other) discrimination, however, we believe a greater response effort is required to address the range of long-standing social, economic, political, and racial inequalities that underlie the Black American lived experience.

We urge the BACB, as an organization that represents the discipline of ABA, to take a stand against systemic racism, oppression, and police brutality. Allied organizations all over the county are doing so (e.g., American Occupational Therapy Association, American Psychological Association, American Speech and Hearing Association), while the BACB remains silent. We believe that silence perpetuates white supremacy as much as observable racist behavior. We call on you to (a) take a position on systemic racial injustice and (b) outline observable actions that the BACB will take to increase the racial and ethnic diversity, inclusion, and social justice for our clients, students, and colleagues.  

With Great Regard,

Applied Behavior Analysis Professionals Everywhere