ASB Newsletter – June 12, 2026

Call for Members for ASB Consensus Body Members

The Academy Standards Board (ASB) of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) is an ANSI-accredited Standards Development Organization. It is announcing a call for new members for all existing consensus bodies. The consensus bodies have 7 to 25 members based on applications received. The ASB has six interest categories, applicants are encouraged to apply in their self-selected interest category. A person may apply to one or more Consensus Body and need not indicate the same interest category for each Consensus Body application. 

Visit the ASB Call for Members page for additional information on the call for members and a link to the application. Deadline for applicants to submit the online form is July 27, 2025.

ASB Documents Open for Public Comment

The ASB encourages all interested parties to provide comments on documents in progress.

The following documents are open for public comment:

• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 030, Standard for a Quality Assurance Program in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, Second Edition (Comment Deadline, July 6, 2026)
• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 039, Standard for Internal Validation of Human Short Tandem Repeat Profiling on Capillary Electrophoresis Platforms (Comment Deadline, July 13, 2026)
• Recirculation* - ASB Technical Report 084, Presentation of Canine Detection Evidence in Court (Comment Deadline, July 13, 2026)
• Recirculation * - ASB BPR 129, Best Practice Recommendation for Internal Validation of Human Short Tandem Repeat Profiling on Capillary Electrophoresis Platforms (Comment Deadline, July 13, 2026)
• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 186, Standard for Forensic Autosomal STR DNA Statistical Analyses (Comment Deadline, June 15, 2026)
• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 188, Standard for Processing Evidence for the Detection of Friction Ridge Impressions (Comment Deadline, July 13, 2026)
• Recirculation* - ASB Standard 199, Standard for Familial DNA Searching (Comment Deadline, June 15, 2026)
• ASB TR 224, Technical Report for Task-relevant Information in Friction Ridge Examination (Comment Deadline, July 6, 2026)

* Please note that comments on a recirculation will only be accepted on revised sections of a document, comments made to text not revised from the previous public comment period will not be accepted.

The documents and additional information on the ASB can be accessed through the ASB website  

Published Standard from the ASB

To date, the ASB has published over 150 Standards/Best Practice Recommendations and Technical Reports. All ASB standards can be accessed through the ASB site.

Project Initiation Notification

The following proposed documents have recently been approved by the ASB for work:

• ASB Std 031-202x, Standard for Report Writing in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (revision of ANSI/ASB Std 031-2020)
  PINS response end date of 6/21/2026
• ASB Std 180-202x, Standard for the Selection and Evaluation of GenBank® Results for Taxonomic Assignment of Wildlife (revision of ANSI/ASB Std 180-2024)
  PINS response end date of 6/14/2026

Upcoming AAFS Standards Webinars

ASTM E1732-25e1 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Sciences
ASTM E1732-25e1 is the master terminology standard for all ASTM E30 standards. E1732 was first published in 1996 and was reformatted in 2024. The standard is updated at least two times per year. This standard for terminology is published by ASTM International. Join us for a deep dive into E1732 and learn about its history and evolution, the other "master" terminology standards in E30, and the Subcommittee's plans for continuous improvement.

Speaker: Karen K. Reczek, MLS, Social Scientist, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Target Audience: Interdisciplinary
Knowledge Level Required: Basic
Register Now! 

Order Your Very Own ASB 10-year Anniversary Gear!

The ASB now has a Lands End Business Store! Choose your item and Apply Logo to add the special limited time 10-year Anniversary Logo! Visit the Storefront! 

ASB Standards Included FIU Research Forensic Library

This library is a curated collection of publicly-accessible articles, reports, drug monographs, controlled substance notifications, historical documents, and other material relating to every discipline of the forensic sciences. The Library provides access to groundbreaking research and to historical articles, all available for free. There are currently over 7,600 articles and reports in the library, with more added every day. Visit the Library here! 

Checklists Available on Forensic Standards
These Checklists provide a tool to allow a forensic science service provider to evaluate the level of standard implementation and/or audit conformance to a standard.  Each checklist, provided in Excel, uses a standardized format that also allows flexibility when used. Checklists are in continuous production with more coming soon! Visit the AAFS Standards Resources and Training site to access the Checklists!

AAFS Factsheets on ASB, ASTM, and NFPA Standards Available
The AAFS Standards Factsheets provide a concise summary of each standard and facilitate broader understanding, they also highlight the purpose of a standard, why it is needed, and the benefits of adoption. Factsheets are in continuous production and more are coming soon. Visit the AAFS Standards Resources and Training site for more details!

Standards Webinars on AAFS Connect
AAFS Connect is the hub of digital forensic science content provided by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. AAFS Connect hosts conference workshops, presentations, webinars, educational training, and other resources. Webinars and updates on Forensic Standards are now available in the Standards Videos portion of AAFS Connect, free of charge. Visit the AAFS Educational Webinars page for more details!