Texas Social Work License Ban Upheld Against Violent Felons

People in Texas convicted of violent crimes can’t get licensed for masters social work, the state intermediary appeals court ruled Thursday, upholding a law that makes no exceptions for those who’ve straightened out their lives post-conviction.

The justices ruled against two convicted felons whose aspirations of becoming social workers were halted when the state passed the ban in 2019. The decision ends their case against the state after a lower court ruled they could advance their claims through discovery.

“The Legislature apparently considered violence against vulnerable patients a problem that it needed to address and reasoned that making certain individuals ...