Ethics and Legal Issues
In School Counseling

Herlihy, B., Gray, N., & McCollum, V. (2003).  Legal and ethical issues in school counselor supervision.  In T.P. Remley, Jr., M.A. Hermann, & W.C. Huey, (Eds.). Ethical & legal issues in school counseling (2^nd ed., pp. 461-462 & 482-485).
Alexandria, VA:  American School Counselor Association. 

Chapter 3:  Students at Risk for Violence

Ethical standards require

• School counselors to inform the authorities when a student’s behavior is indicative of clear and imminent danger to others.

• ethical duty to keep informed about laws related to the rights of their students and ensure that their students’ rights are protected.

Counselors are responsible for preventing violence, although student profiling may violate student privacy rights. 

School counselors and administrators need to be trained to identify warning signs, threat assessment and crisis response. 

School counselors should be involved in developing school programs design and implement violence prevention programs and crisis response plans.

• Effective strategies include; skills training, behavior monitoring and reinforcement, cooperative learning, bullying prevention programs and parent education programs. 

• Teach students non-violent alternatives to dispute resolution, communication skills, and diversity acceptance.

• Modifying the school climate is one of the most effective strategies for preventing school violence.  All students are equally valued and differences are acknowledged and respected.  Furthermore, all forms of violence, including hazing and bullying are not tolerated. 

1. Learn risk factors and warning signs of at-risk students.

2. Understand how to intervene appropriately in the lives of at-     risk students.

3. Help prevent school violence by initiating violence prevention  programs and a referral system for school personnel and students seeking additional resources.

A Duty To Warn And Protect: Tarasoff and The Elementary School Teacher

Know the laws of your state/district and the policies of your school.  In doubt consult.

The duty to report and the ethical duty to protect students’ rights cause a dilemma.  

Legal Implications of Profiling Students for Violence

Profiling is problematic in a school setting. 

Assessing Threats of School Violence:  Implications for Counselors

Threat Assessment Approach vs. Profiling?

1. motivation for the behavior that brought the person being evaluating to official attention; 

2. communication about ideas and intentions;

3. unusual interest in target violence;

4. evidence of attack-related behaviors and planning;

5. mental condition;

6. level of cognitive sophistication and organization to formulate and execute and attack plan;

7. recent losses;

8. consistency between communications and behavior;

9. concern by others about the individual’s potential for harm; and

10. factors in the individual’s life and/or environment or situation that might increase or decrease the likelihood of attack.

Helping after violence occurs: Introduction stage, fact-gathering stage, thought stage, reaction stage, symptom stage, teaching stage, reentry stage. 

In dealing with PTSD, counselors can;

1. Help students control intrusive thoughts.

2. Help students develop strategies to control the symptoms that coincide with intrusive thoughts

3. Help students develop a sense of safety once again. 

Appendix, pp. 159

Checklist of Characteristics of Youth Who Have Caused School-Associated Violent Deaths

Lavine v. Blain School District, 2001-Schools have a duty to prevent potential violence in the school setting.

Davis v. Monroe County BD. Of Edu., 1999-School personnel are on notice that they can be held responsible for failing to protect students from student-on-student violence.

Lovell v. Poway Unified Sch. Dist., 1996-A  “true threat” is a threat that a reasonable person in the same circumstances would find to be a serious and unambiguous expression of intent to do harm based on the language and context of the threat.

Eisel v. Bd of Educ. 1991-School counselors have the duty to use reasonable care to attempt to prevent a student’s suicide when they are on notice of a student’s suicidal intent. 

Wyke v. Polk County Sch. Bd., 1997-School counselors are expected to exercise the degree of care that would be exercised by other school counselors with similar education and experience. 

Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 1974/1976-dual duties to warn and to protect third parties of potentially dangerous client behavior. 

 A.9. Evaluation, Assessment and Interpretation

The professional school counselor:

a.       Adheres to all professional standards regarding selecting, administering and interpreting assessment measures.  Computer based testing requires additional training.

b.       Provides an explanation to the counselee to the nature , purposes, and results of assessment/evaluation.

c.       Does not misuse assessment results and interpretations and takes reasonable steps to prevent others from doing the same.

d.       Uses caution when utilizing assessment techniques, making evaluations and interpreting the performance of populations not represented in the norm group on which the instrument is standardized.

SECTION E: EVALUATION, ASSESSMENT AND INTERPRETATION
E.1. General

a.       Appraisal Techniques.  Assessments should provide measures that are objective and interpretable in either comparative or absolute terms.  

b.       Client Welfare. Counselors should always promote the welfare and best interest of the clients in the development, publication, and utilization of educational and psychological assessment techniques.  Respect clients rights to know the results, interpretations made, and the bases for their conclusions and recommendations.  Don’t misuse result and prevent others from doing so too.

E. 2. Competence to Use and Interpret Tests

a.       Limits of competence.  Counselors need to recognize the limits of their competence and perform only those testing and assessment services for which they have been trained including computer based assessments.  

b.       Appropriate Use. Counselors are responsible for the appropriate application, scoring, interpretation and use of assessment instruments, whether they score and interpret such tests themselves or use computerized or other services.

c.       Decisions Based on Results.  Counselors responsible for decisions involving individuals or policies that are based on assessment results need to have a thorough understanding of validity, test research, guidelines for test development and use.

d.       Accurate Information. Counselors provide accurate information and avoid false claims or misconceptions when making statements about assessment instruments or techniques.  

E.3. Informed Consent

a.       Explanation to Clients. Prior to assessment, explain the nature and purpose of the test and the specific use of the results that the client can understand.  

b.       Recipients of Results. Prior to releasing results the welfare of the client, understanding and prior agreements are in place.  Counselor will make accurate and appropriate interpretations. 

E.4. Release of Information to Competent Professionals

a.       Misuse of Results. Counselors do not misuse results and take reasonable steps to ensure other don’t either.

b.       Release of Raw Data. Raw data is typically not released without implicit consent of the client.  Data is typically released to people identified by the counselor as competent to interpret the data.

E.5. Proper Diagnosis of Mental Disorders

a.       Proper Diagnosis- Counselors need to take care to give proper diagnosis. 

b.       Cultural Sensitivity.  Counselors recognize that culture affects the manner in which clients problem’s are defined. 

E.6. Test Selection

a.       Appropriateness of Insturments.  Counselors carefully consider the validity, reliability and psychometric limitations, and appropriate of instruments when selecting tests for use in a given situation or with a particular client.

b.       Culturally Diverse Populations.  Counselors are sensitive to culture in relations to tests.

E.7. Conditions of Test Administration

a.       Administration Conditions.  Counselors will follow the rules of the test and how they are to be administered so their validity remains.

b.       Computer Administration. Counselors are responsible for ensuring that computerized tests are administered on fully functioning computers and systems.  

c.       Unsupervised Test Taking.  Counselors do not allow test to be unsupervised unless that was the purpose and intention of administration for that test.

d.       Disclosure of Favorable Conditions.  Prior to test administration, conditions that produce most favorable test results are made known to the examinee. 

E.8. Diversity in Testing

Counselors are sensitive to diversity and understanding the similarities/dissimilarities of the normed group and place test results in their proper perspective.

E.9. Test Scoring and Interpretation

a.       Reporting Reservations. Counselors are aware and report any concerns regarding the testing/validity and reliability.

b.       Research Instruments.  Counselors exercise caution with instruments that have not been validated.

c.       Testing Services  The formal responsibility of the consultant is to the consultee, but the ultimate and overriding responsibility is to the client.     

E.10.Test Security

Counselors need to maintain integrity and follow the rules of test administration and security.  This has legal and contractual issues. 

E.11.Obsolete Tests and Outdated Test Results

Counselors should not use assessments or data that are obsolete or outdated for the current purpose.  Counselors should make every effort to prevent the misuse of obsolete measures and test data by others.

E.12.Test Construction

Counselors use researched based, established scientific procedures, relevant standards and current professional knowledge for test design.  

Over all, most of this is common sense.  In order to get the best valid results we need to be aware of current data and research.  We need to follow the rules and keep test integrity high.  We need to respect the rights of the client and we need to be professional at all times.  

STANDARD 11: Professionalism, Ethics, and Legal Mandates
Certified school counselors develop a professional identity congruent with knowledge of all aspects of professional functions, professional development, and state and national school counselor organizations. They adhere strictly to the profession’s codes of ethics, especially those that have been established by the American Counseling Association (ACA), the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), and other relevant codes of ethics. They are familiar with state and federal policies, laws, and legislation relevant to school counseling.