BACB CEU Requirements for BCBAs are Changing in 2027. Here is What to Expect

Attention BCBAs! Are you up to date on the latest changes to your BCBA CEU requirements? As the United States heads into new territory with the latest policy changes under a new federal administration, changes to DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) guidelines have also affected the BCBA CEUs coursework pathway. Here’s what you need to know about the new changes and how they will affect your continuing education if you are currently a BCBA, BCaBA, or RBT seeking certification in the future.

According to information in the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) March 2025 newsletter, changes will be updated to the BCBA CEU requirements, which will affect certification renewals on or after January 1, 2027. Since 2022, anti-DEI policy support by several states and the federal government has spurred many American organizations to restructure their internal HR company policies to reflect evolving regulations, and the BACB has not been an exception. 

The original plan for 2027 BCBA CEU requirements (announced in March of 2022) outlined the addition of DEI as its own category. As part of a larger move to embed cultural responsiveness into ABA, 12 SMEs (which included university faculty, practicing BCBAs, and others) collaborated on the development of the previous requirements for BCBA CEUs. 

More recently, the DEI category has been removed and reframed under the ethics category; the BCAB cited legal and political concerns for BCBA certification across the United States.

The structure of fieldwork hours for BCBAs is also being changed. Each supervisory period must now include between 20 and 160 hours. Percentages of standard and concentrated fieldwork will stay the same. However, observation periods are outlined, and at least half of supervision must be one-on-one, and group supervision cannot surpass 50%. 

BCBAs must be certified for one year before they are able to supervise, or they may receive monthly support from a consulting supervisor. Updated Field Verification forms are also required for BCBA certification seekers beginning in 2027.

Even though the BACB announced that the DEI category is now being removed from the BCBA CEU requirements and has also removed all explicit language referencing diversity, equity, and inclusion from future courses, we may not have a specific category to address DEI. However, it seems as if the changes to the structure can include DEI-supported practices when framed correctly.

The ethics category has now been expanded to include content on cultural and contextual responsiveness. The new coursework has outlined two contextual, identity-based factors that will allow up-and-coming BCBAs to integrate cultural and personal variables naturally into the assessment and treatment process, such as cultural identity markers (like family values and customs, language) and broader contextual or life circumstances (like disability status, trauma history, or socioeconomic background).

Because the BACB ethics code organically includes cultural responsiveness, ethics training will still cover culturally sensitive decision-making, acknowledgment of each client’s background and identity, and designing plans to meet the specific personal needs of each client. Cultural and contextual responsiveness is still expected. The dropping of the DEI label allows for new BCBAs to address these integral issues without being politically charged and allows more legal defense in DEI-restricted states, while still meeting current BCBA CEU requirements for ethical coursework.

BCBAs are still able to take cultural or equity-focused trainings; however, the trainings must qualify under the Ethics CEU category to count toward BCBA CEU requirements. Training courses must be grounded in ethical decision-making, link back to Ethics codes, or be heavily based on published ABA literature. 

Coursework changes will apply to those seeking certification in 2027 or later. For those who are already certified or will be before 2027, we recommend you review the new guidelines to see if your previous DEI courses meet the criteria for the new Ethics CEU guidelines. The CEU providers may also change course content by renaming or reclassifying topics to better fit the definition under the Ethics category.

If you are a CEU provider, remember when selecting courses for the Ethics requirement that they must be inherently rooted in behavior analysis research, literature, and practice and point directly back to the Ethics code. Under the updated BCBA CEU requirements, general diversity training doesn’t count. Consider focusing on real-life ethical dilemmas that consider topics like social justice, inclusion, or cultural identity within a behavior analytic framework and demonstrating how ethical decision-making can be affected by identity-based variables.

Now is the time to review your BCBA CEU requirements and your practice with a fine-toothed comb. The recategorization of the CEU structure has reformed the standards for what qualifies as ethics-related continuing education, and the change in supervisory hours will affect certification-seeking individuals. All new coursework must tie back to ethical practice as it relates to the field of ABA. If you have questions, consult your supervisor or contact nationally recognized non-profit organizations in the ABA world.