To extend the requirement for passage of the licensing examination and allow an additional one to three years for remediation, training and equitable opportunities. To reduce the passing score by 10 points and provide study sheets for retaking examination.

The petition will be published on February 15, 2021 with a comment period ending March 10, 2021. The Board will consider the petition and any comment received at its meeting on March 12, 2021.

In accordance with Virginia law, the petition was filed with the Register of Regulations and published on February 15, 2021 with comment accepted through March 10, 2021. The petition was also posted on the Virginia Regulatory Townhall at www.townhall.viginia.gov. There was one comment on the petition from the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), the body that owns the licensing examination.

At its meeting yesterday, the Board declined to initiate rulemaking in response to the petition. The consensus was that lowering the cut score for passage of the national examination would jeopardize acceptance of Virginia applicants for licensure in other states. Additionally, the passing score is determined by an analysis by experts and determined by ASWB for all candidates, and there is no basis for Virginia choosing a different score.

Likewise, the Board did not agree to further extend the period during which someone can be approved to sit for the examination. In its comment, ASWB noted that Virginia is more generous than many other states in the number of times someone can attempt passage and the amount of time given to do so.