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legal issues in counseling
legal issues in counseling
legal issues in counseling
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The topic of this paper focuses on the battles school counselors face as the law and ethical standards collide. School counselors face a number of legal and ethical issues and recognizing a clear decision isn’t always easy. School counselors have to work with a large number of students, parents, and administrators while conforming to ethical codes, state laws, and school board guidelines. This topic is of great relevance to me as I will be going into the school counseling profession. It is also a meaningful topic to me because life-changing decisions are made every day in reference to legal and ethical issues. Researching this topic has shed some light on the difficulty for school counselors to fulfill both legal and ethical requirements. The main reason for this is that laws and ethical codes may sometimes provide differing and contradictory messages regarding the same subject. This can lead to legal ramifications, even while following ethical norms as we will look at in the example case of Woodlock v. Orange Ulster B.O.C.E.S. (2006/2008). In Woodlock v. Orange, the school counselor, known as N.W., was advocating for systemic change on behalf of her special education students. This was well within the code of ethics. N.W. was repeatedly expressing her concerns to the administrative intern and principal. Her primary concern was a lack of certified gym and art instructors, which violated state special education mandates and the children’s IEPs. She raised other safety concerns to the administration with little to no response. She began to document all of her interactions with the administration, leading to a written reprimand issued to her by the principal. This reprimand stated that N.W. was “taking it upon yourself t... ... middle of paper ... ...l Counselors. Professional School Counseling, 195-202. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from www.schoolcounselor.org Kress, Victoria, Drouhard, Nicole. (2006). Students Who Self-Injure: School Counselor Ethical and Legal Considerations. Professional School Counseling, 203-208. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from www.schoolcounselor.org Moyer, M., & Sullivan, J. (2008). Student Risk-Taking Behaviors: When Do School Counselors Break Confidentiality?. Professional School Counseling, 11(4), 236-245. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org/10.5330/PSC.n.2010-11.236 Stone, C. B., & Zirkel, P. A. (2010). School Counselor Advocacy: When Law And Ethics May Collide. Professional School Counseling, 13(4), 244-247. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org/10.5330/PSC.n.2010-13.244 Devoe, Andrea. Personal interview. 8 Apr. 2014. Weaver Middle School, Merced Ca. 209-723-2174
This decision makes it clear the most important thing for a school to do is to protect the students. It also states that the board of education, whose role is to oversee the schools, must make sure that the staff of the schools is protecting those children. This case highlights that long-term abuse can happen in schools if there are not clear policies or, if there are, that there is no one ensuring that those policies are
I believe the school psychologist was not acting ethically. According to Standard I.1.1, "parent consent is required if the consultation about particular child or adolescent is likely to be extensive and ongoing and/or if school actions may result in a significant intrusion on student or family privacy beyond what might be expected in the course of ordinary school activities." Since the counseling group would be considered "extensive", the school psychologist needs a formal approval or denial of the services she intends to provide. The school psychologist also decided to send a letter explaining what the counseling session. While the letter does seem to provide extensive information on the sessions, the school psychologist has no way to know if the parents received the letter, or if the
Huey, W. C. (1986). Ethical Concerns in School Counseling. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 64(5), 321.
A professional school counselor is skilled and trained to use his/her best judgment when it comes to students’ rights and confidentiality. One should behave as a professional at all times and be mindful of their behavior. One not only have to be aware of professional values they should also be knowledgeable of applying these standards as they apply to the role of the school counselor. The professional school counselor is responsible for removing barriers to learning and to advocate for change for all students. In the case study assigned for review, I will examine ethical violation as it contains to student rights, confidentiality and professionalism relationships. The school counselor lives and works in a community where one socializes
Facts: The Louise Lombard School is a developmental center for disabled children in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). It is here that seventeen-year-old John Doe, an emotionally-disturbed student assaulted another student. According to his April 1980 IEP, Doe had several goals set for coping with frustrating situations and relating to his peers. During the incident in November, Doe reacted to the taunts of other students by choking another student and leaving abrasions on the child’s neck. While being escorted to the principal’s office, Doe also kicked out a school window. The principal suspended Doe for five days. During his suspension, the Student Placement
Gaining consultation from appropriate sources could help the counselor gain knowledge that would support the decision-making process. However, it should also be noted that the counselor must protect the student’s confidentiality, yet, some information would need to be shared with consultants. Thus, the counselor would only provide information relevant to each consultant, standard C.2.e (ASCA 2010; Davis, 2015). Next, the counselor would record the needed information in order to make an ethical decision (Luke, Goodrich, & Gilbride, 2013). The counselor would write down the Japanese family experts information that was provided, write down all the applicable ethical codes, the school policies, and state laws. Next, the counselor would analyze the information from the previous step with the student’s CRW factors and list the CRW factors that support or conflict with the proposed action and associate the decision with ethical standards (Luke, Goodrich, & Gilbride, 2013). For instance, the counselor would list that breaching confidentiality to child welfare services would be ethically supported in this situation by school policy and ACA (2014) ethical standard B.2.a,
Professional counselors are confronted with ethical decision making on a regular day-to-day basis. This could be both nerve-racking and challenging. In order for a counselor to face these ethical decisions, it is important for them to have guidelines in place for when an ethical or legal situation occurs. The first step is to recognize there is an ethical dilemma, once this is recognized the process to resolve it can be started (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2008).
There will be times when we, as counselors, face the challenge that is an ethical dilemma. When deciding how to manage these types of situations, there are ethical, legal and moral considerations. The American Counseling Association has established the ethical guidelines for counselors. The legal obligations counselors must adhere to are established by the federal government and state legislation. Moral principles that counselors reflect upon being autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity and veracity (Remley & Herlihy, 2014). The balancing act of these three elements is essential in the ethical decision making process.
This model identifies five moral principles which are: justice, autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and fidelity. These fundamental guidelines are used to clarify issues that involve any given situation. Ethical guidelines may not address all situations, but will allow a counselor to explore ethical dilemmas and conflicting issues. Counselors are responsible to encourage clients to make their own appropriate decisions and to act on their own values. Two important things to consider when counseling client are: autonomous encouragement helps clients understand how their decisions and values that may or may not receive within the context of the society; they live in or may impinge on the rights of others (Kitchener,
The ASCA reminds school counselors that they are to guide and assist students who are victims by supplying appropriate services (ASCA, 2016). When abuse is suspected, a guidance counselor must personally report the abuse to child protective services (CPS). Cuff vs. Grossmont Union High School District reminds us how vital it is to follow all reporting procedures. In the state of Virginia, teachers, and those working in public and private schools, are mandated reporters and must report within 24 hours of the suspected neglect or abuse; even if the abuse occurred in the past (DSS.VA.GOV). Failure to report will result in criminal actions. Although school counselors are held to confidentiality terms, cases such as these warrant a duty to warn and an ethical obligation to protect. The American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) state that as Christian counselors, one should always disclose confidential information when a life is endangered, this includes events such as suicidal ideations, bullying, and abuse (AACC, 2014). Although the ASCA and the AACC provides guidance to crisis responses, there are still legal and ethical issues that may not be
...s. In Fossel, M. & Holstein, N.(Eds.), School Law and the Public Schools: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders (5th ed.)
Ethics is important for both group and individual counseling, especially group counseling. Both are beneficial; however, group counseling allows a counselor to work with a small-to-medium size group of people who share similar struggles. Members have the ability to learn from one another. Ethics in group counseling is crucial because the counselor or group leader is not only responsible for one person’s personal struggles, but the struggles of multiple people within the group. Counselors and group leaders must emphasize confidentiality in group counseling sessions, unless what a person is sharing is a danger to themselves or others, or against the law. Group counseling has many positives; however, it is important
As a future school counselor residing in Fairfax, Virginia one should be aware of the school district policies as well as the state laws govern minors, parents and the guardians. A school counselor should perform their duties in accordance with the commonwealth of Virginia and federal government. Many times students as well as parents or guardians request school records relating to grades. In order to protect student’s rights, Virginia school systems use the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) which states any student 18 or older can obtain their school records as well as their parents and guardians. As a future counselor one will be required to notify parents and students of their right. As the school counselor notification
Counselors should make sure to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of clients, and this is maintained by subordinates, including employees. Counselors discuss confidential information only in settings in which they can reasonably ensure client privacy. Counselors protect the confidentiality
“Ethics are defined as a set of principles of right conducts; the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession” ( Dictionary of the Human Language, 2000). Teachers are often put in situations that require more than just knowing the basic school rules. It is within these situations, that the ethical dilemmas occur. There is not always a right way to deal with many daily problems that face educators, but there are ways to handle situations that are better then others.