Abstract
The 2025 AOTA Representative Assembly convened on April 24, 2025, to vote on key issues impacting the organization and profession. During the meeting, nine motions were presented. The outcomes of each motion are summarized herein.
The 2025 AOTA Representative Assembly convened on April 24, 2025, to vote on key issues impacting the organization and profession. During the meeting, nine motions were presented. The outcomes of each motion are summarized herein.
The Representative Assembly (RA) motion process spans the entire year, as Requests for Action (RFAs) can be submitted at any time. With one meeting scheduled, the 2025 cycle concluded with voting at the Spring meeting in April. The timeline below outlines key steps from the initial call for motions through the final decisions made at the RA Meeting.
Timeline for Representative Assembly Initiatives and Events
▪ June 2023: COE Survey for Philosophy of Occupational Therapy
▪ September–October 2024: Ethics Survey for Code of Ethics Revisions ▪ August–September 2024: CCC Survey ▪ January 31, 2025: Deadline for submission of all Requests for Action and Motions (reviewed by Agenda Committee) ▪ February 10–21, 2025: CommunOT Member Feedback Period ▪ February 24–28, 2025: Asynchronous CommunOT Task Group Discussions (Open for member observation) ▪ March 5, 2025: Synchronous Virtual Task Group Session to Create Motions ▪ April 24, 2025: Annual Spring Meeting
In each step of the process, the RA Leadership teamed with multiple areas of AOTA to utilize social media, the AOTA website, email blasts, CommunOT, and/or OT Essential newsletters for communication.
The Representative Assembly convened on April 24, 2025, to vote on key issues impacting our organization and profession. During the meeting, nine motions were presented. The outcomes of each motion are summarized below.
Motions
Motion 01-04242025: Charging the Speaker of the Representative Assembly with conveying the findings of the “Fall 2023 RA Workgroup on School-Based Practice” to the Board of Directors of AOTA at the next Board of Directors meeting was adopted
A significant number of occupational therapy practitioners identify school-based practice as their primary practice setting. Following two Requests for Action (RFA) and one Motion at the Fall 2023 meeting of the Representative Assembly, a workgroup was formed to generate recommendations to better support the needs of occupational therapy practitioners in school-based practice settings. Many of the recommendations do not fall within the purview of the Representative Assembly to address but do fall within the purview of the Board of Directors. Tasking the Speaker with conveying the aforementioned relevant documents and recommendations is likely to benefit all school-based practitioners should the Board choose to adopt any of the recommendations or refer them to other AOTA bodies.
Motion 02-04242025: Commission on Practice revised Guidelines for Occupational Therapy Services in Early Intervention and Schools official document was adopted
This motion directs the Commission on Practice to create an official AOTA document to address the following identified issues: parity discrepancies between school-based occupational therapy practitioners and state education agency certified practitioners, consistency and competency in providing school occupational therapy services, and opportunities and challenges related to advancing careers of school-based occupational therapy practitioners, as well as targeting workload versus caseload issues within school-based practice. Though early intervention and school-based practice are guided by common legislation, the practice standards, settings, and practice-related challenges are distinctly different. It is critical that each practice setting has targeted and clearly articulated standards of practice supported by the official documents.
Motion 03-04242025: The Philosophical Base of Occupational Therapy document was adopted
This motion approved the Philosophical Base of Occupational Therapy document with the following editorial changes requested: ▪ Add a statement indicating the purpose and intended audience for this document. ▪ Change wording: Determinants to Drivers and change agents to change maker (or innovator) ▪ Move the occupational science paragraph up one paragraph to improve the flow and allow the document to end on “Occupational therapy is based on….” ▪ Take out the definition of Occupational Justice and reference the OTPF for all the examples of occupational goals. ▪ Add a reference to the Ethics document along with the OTPF.
Motion 04-04242025: The revisions to the AOTA Model Continuing Competence Requirements were adopted
This motion allows the AOTA Model Continuing Competence Requirements to move forward as proposed. This includes member feedback, updated language, and the additional competence related to formal mentorships of occupational therapy capstone students or occupational therapy assistant baccalaureate project students.
Motion 05-04242025: The revisions to the CCC Standard Operating Procedures were adopted
The revisions to the CCC Standard Operating Procedures follow the five-year updates that are made to AOTA documents. These were passed with this motion having the affirmative.
Motion 06-04242025: Adopting a policy that supports the ethical development and integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into occupational therapy practice, education, and research as proposed was adopted
This policy aims to promote the ethical, safe, and effective use of artificial intelligence (AI) in occupational therapy (OT) practice, education, and research, ensuring compliance with the profession’s ethical standards and fostering innovation while maintaining a client- centered approach, privacy, and sustainability. Occupational therapy practitioners, students, educators, and researchers have a vital role in training AI tools so that the created output is consistent with and inclusive of occupational therapy models and practice frameworks. The policy aligns with the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF), which supports the use of applicable products and technologies to enhance occupational performance across various contexts, including virtual environments.
Motion 07-04242025: The revisions to the Agenda Committee Standard Operating Procedures were adopted
The revision included the addition of the attachment for the process of submitting requests for action.
Motion 08-04242025: The revisions to the Ethics Committee Standard Operating Procedures were adopted
The changes to the document are minimal and support the inclusion of occupational therapy assistants.
Motion 09-04242025: The revisions to the Code of Ethics were adopted
The task group had a robust discussion regarding the change of the term equality to equity, and several members expressed their concern with the change. However, a majority of the group identified that the change aligns with current trends in terminology. The group identified that there is a need for stylistic changes to the document so that it reads as though it was written cohesively.
Citation. American Occupational Therapy Association. (2025). AOTA 2025 Representative Assembly meeting summary. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 79(Suppl. 3), 7913035510. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2025.79S310