For years, Florida fought back against leftist overreach in education. So why is it now forcing every aspiring counselor, including school counselors, to undergo ideological training that contradicts the state’s own values?
The Hidden Trojan Horse in Florida’s Counseling Standards
Florida has taken bold steps to combat the influence of woke ideology in K-12 and higher education. From banning critical race theory in schools to eliminating “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) programs in public universities, the state has been a leader in rejecting activist-driven curricula. Yet, in an ironic twist, Florida now mandates that all counselors, including those working with vulnerable children, to receive training from universities accredited by bodies deeply committed to social justice activism.
This requirement forces prospective mental health professionals to obtain a degree from a program accredited by one of just a handful of accreditors, the largest of which by far is the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The problem? CACREP is one of the most ideologically leftist accreditation bodies in higher education, embedding race- and gender-based activism throughout counselor education.
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How CACREP Became the Gatekeeper of Counseling
Since 1988, CACREP has steadily reshaped the field of counseling, embedding critical theories into its standards. The standard preamble states, “diversity, equity, inclusion, and critical thinking are integral to counselor preparation and should be infused throughout the curriculum.” Under the guise of “multicultural competency,” students in CACREP-accredited programs are required to take instruction in social and cultural identities, which covers:
- theories and models of multicultural counseling, social justice, and advocacy;
- the effects of stereotypes, overt and covert discrimination, racism, power, oppression, privilege, marginalization, microaggressions, and violence on counselors and clients;
- disproportional effects of poverty, income disparities, and health disparities toward people with marginalized identities;
- strategies for identifying and eliminating barriers, prejudices, and processes of intentional and unintentional oppression and discrimination.
The CACREP standard also requires evaluating students’ professional dispositions, which encompass students’ values, beliefs, commitments, and traits as they relate to working with diverse and so-called marginalized populations. Students at CACREP-accredited Florida State University are advised that they can be dismissed when “academic performance is substandard, regardless of Grade Point Average (GPA).”
What this means in practice, as a thorough study of the multicultural counseling textbooks required in CACREP-accredited Florida training programs shows, is that students must adhere to a worldview where they:
- Accept systemic racism as an undeniable fact;
- View clients through an “intersectional” lens, ranking them on an oppression hierarchy;
- Affirm gender ideology without question, even in cases involving children;
- Advocate for activist causes as part of their professional duty;
Today, most, if not all, counseling students in Florida must now pass through this ideological filter to obtain their license. While Florida has taken strong measures to keep radical leftist ideologies out of K-12 education, it is simultaneously giving radical accreditation bodies unchecked power to shape the mental health professionals who work with those same students.
[RELATED: Florida Leads Fight Against Politicized Accreditation]
Indoctrination Disguised as Education
What does this mean in practice? A student entering a CACREP-accredited counseling program will not simply be taught evidence-based therapeutic methods. Instead, they will be required to adopt a worldview that aligns with the organization’s activist stance.
For instance, the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics—which CACREP programs use as their ethical framework—states that counselors must not attempt to change a client’s “cultural identity.” However, in practice, this means that counselors must affirm a minor’s stated gender identity, even if it contradicts biological reality or the wishes of the child’s parents.
Furthermore, these programs push the controversial concept of microaggressions, encouraging future therapists to see subtle and often unintentional remarks as forms of oppression. This approach fosters paranoia and division rather than resilience and healing.
The Effect on Florida Families
The consequences of this training are profound. School counselors, trained under CACREP guidelines, bring their ideological biases into Florida’s K-12 system. In many districts across the country, school counselors have been documented assisting minors in gender transitions without parental consent. With Florida now requiring accreditation for counseling licensure, the state is unwittingly inviting this same activist-driven approach into its schools.
While CACREP may be the biggest and worst of the bunch, the Florida Mental Health licensing website directs prospective students to confirm accreditation status with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), an organization that signed in its own commitment to DEI standards in 2021.
Florida Needs to Act Now
Florida’s legislative leadership must recognize this contradiction and take immediate action. Here are three concrete steps the state should take:
- Prevent a CACREP Monopoly – CACREP has been advertising its accreditation for over a year as though it is an exclusive requirement for licensure in Florida. Florida must continue to allow multiple pathways to licensure, including non-CACREP-accredited degrees. New accreditation bodies can be built that do not require ideological conformity. CACREP should be sent a cease-and-desist letter to halt this deceptive advertising.
- Implement Ideological Neutrality Standards – Just as Florida has purged DEI programs from public universities, it should prohibit counseling programs from requiring adherence to critical theories, gender ideology, or activist training.
- Increase Transparency in School Counseling – Parents should have the right to know what kind of training their child’s school counselor has received. Schools must be required to disclose if their counselors are using activist frameworks rather than neutral, evidence-based therapeutic methods.
[RELATED: FAMU Students and Alumni Revolt Over Their New President. Why? She’s a Republican.]
The Bottom Line
Florida has made great strides in protecting its education system from ideological capture. But if the state truly wants to uphold its values, it cannot allow CACREP, CHEA, or any other accreditor to dictate what people must believe in order to become a counselor. Mental health professionals should be trained in real therapeutic skills, not ideological activism. If Florida does not act now, it risks undoing all the progress it has made in keeping radical agendas out of its schools and public institutions.
Image by Katherine Welles on Adobe; Asset ID# 129473341
