Dr. Dani Scott's Response:

"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman."- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

The current 3.4 A/B Standard is relatively new, updated in 2023 amid rising calls from ASHA members, particularly influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement and in response to the health disparities made glaringly obvious by the COVID-19 pandemic and growing advocacy from scholars and practitioners for a more systemic approach to preparing students to provide equitable and inclusive services. 

In my roles as both a tenure-track assistant professor and associate clinical professor, I have developed and delivered curricula focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. I have taught courses including Cultural Humility, Culturally Responsive Practices, DEI in Speech-Language Pathology, and DEI Seminar—courses that equip graduate students with essential knowledge and skills to provide ethical care while dismantling barriers to health and educational equity. As a Black woman in the predominantly white field of speech-language pathology, teaching this content carries deep personal significance. My lived experiences with healthcare inequities inform my instruction and bring authenticity to these critical conversations. These courses have proven transformative for my students, fundamentally shifting how they understand their role as future clinicians and advocates for equitable care. 

Here is a quote from a second year graduate student about her experience with DEI courses implemented as a result of the current 3.4A/B Standard:

“I owe my preparedness and knowledge to X and the DEI curriculum that she built at XXX. She has created classes, that when worked through while fully engaged + committed can bring depth and meaning to therapy. X has taught me to make space for people to share their lived experiences as well as engage in therapy authentically. These required classes have changed me from being afraid to talk about race and culture to being humble and confident in my abilities to enter into meaningful and difficult conversations. Perfection isn’t attainable or possible, but humility is. I have and will make mistakes, but I know I can apologize and learn for next time. When you learn better you need to do better. I have learned how different therapy, and the therapeutic space can be when you decide to do better. I am deeply honored to be a part of a group of students that were the first to complete all of the DEI courses. I hope my words have conveyed to you how valuable these courses are to me and to the SLHS field. I would not have gained this experience and knowledge at another university. The work X is doing with CDIS students is cutting edge and powerful. Her work and dedication have changed my life, but also all the lives of the students I will treat in my future practice.”

Without the current 3.4A/B standard these essential curriculum changes would not have been possible, and programs would be invited to exclude content that supports students’ development of knowledge and skills to meet ASHA’s mission, making effective communication a human right, accessible and achievable for all. Standard 3.4/B should continue to align directly with the ASHA Code of Ethics, which already includes anti-discrimination principles. A DEI framework encourages our field to re-imagine, examine, and counteract systems of racism, ableism, and other deeply rooted systemic inequities. A “family centered and person centered approach” does not, by any means. 

Education has always been and will continue to be a political enterprise; therefore, it is critical to interrogate the foundational social, political and ideological forces that sustain and uphold it. Nonetheless, it is imperative for us as a profession to be innovative and strategic in the language used, so that ethical, inclusive practices may continue amid banning terminology that aligns with DEI efforts. Higher education accreditation agencies and professional organizations can empower faculty, determining from outside the institution what language is appropriate and required for learning to take place (Batker & Turpin, 2023). 

We must ask ourselves: who is likely to be harmed by this proposed change? Even while individual states are making changes, if the CAA, the entity created to establish and enforce a set of standards for the accreditation of graduate education programs in audiology and in speech-language pathology, does not maintain the institutional accountability for equity and justice in our curriculum standards, this is increase the disproportionate negative outcomes for all clients, with an additional tax on the most marginalized clients and professionals. 

If the CAA is truly committed to quality, and dedicated to audiology and speech-language pathology programs’ success in preparing future professionals, it is imperative that we maintain the 3.4A/B Standard to ensure that DEI is not deemed optional; it is fundamental to ethical practice.