While the online format of 2020 REALTORS® Conference & Expo made history because of the opportunity it gave members to listen, learn and participate from the comfort of their own homes, offices or home offices, several actions by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Board of Directors were also worth noting.
The board approved several recommendations that strengthened the association’s commitment to fair housing. Among their decisions, directors:
- Took strong action to curb hate speech – Code of Ethics will now include a new Standard of Practice prohibiting the use of harassing speech, hate speech, epithets or slurs against the protected classes.
- Will combat steering by improving school data resources – The topic of school quality serving as a proxy for racial steering was a hot topic at the Idea Exchange Council for Brokers Forum. NAR expects to start providing some updated resources on real estate and schools in 2021 according to Bryan Greene, NAR’s director of fair housing, who spoke at the forum.
- Changed local association core standards – Among changes to local association core standards are requirements that strategic plans include a diversity, equity and inclusion and fair housing component, certify that they have conducted or promoted a diversity, equity and inclusion and fair housing activity and require that leadership training include a commitment to greater diversity, equity and inclusion.
For details on these and other actions taken by the NAR board, check out this Special Report.
