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S1 - Professional Perspective and Introduction

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S1 - Professional Perspective and Introduction

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Honesty, trust, and transparency are bedrocks of the counselor/student relationship. Confidentiality is an integral part of that relationship.

Counselors and students, both, need frequent education and reflection to better under stand the limitations of confidentiality and the role confidentiality plays in the student/counselor. This supports student develop a sense of trust with their counselor.

As counselors, a self reflective approach to the counseling practice helps maintain the highest standards of confidentiality.

This purpose of this Padlet is to educate counselors on the various laws, codes, administrative laws, at the Federal and State levels. This Padlet will also present the professional standards and ethics related to confidentiality and how they impact the counseling practice.

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S2 - Governing Agencies at Federal and State Level

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S2 - Governing Agencies at Federal and State Level

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The U.S. Department of Education is the agency of the federal government that establishes policy, administers and coordinates most federal assistance to education. The Department's mission is to serve America's students-to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

At the state level the Texas Legislature has given authority to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to administer and monitor compliance with the education programs  by federal or state law (Tex. Ed. Code, 2021). This includes federal and state funding for those programs.

If school districts or schools  fall out of compliance with laws and regulations that govern education, they may lose federal and/or state funding and educators may lose their certification.

To avoid ethical conflicts around confidentiality it is important to maintain the highest professional and ethical standards and ethical standards and be familiar with the laws that govern confidentiality and school counselors.

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Confidentiality is a major concern for counselors. When students feel that confidentiality is not being honored they will not seek out services. This has a negative impact on their academic and social/emotional development.

Laws at the Federal and State levels protect student information and confidentiality.

A Federal Law that impacts student/counselor confidentiality is the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act also known as FERPA.

FERPA protects a student’s personal information in their educational record.
- FERPA grants parents and students 18 years or older access to information in the student’s educational record (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act [FERPA], 1974).
- It also protects that information from being disclosed to third parties without parental consent (FERPA, 1974).

If a school releases student educational or personal information, without parental or adult student consent, a school may have all federal funding suspended until they are in compliance with the law.

A State Law that has an impact on counselor/student confidentiality is the Texas Administrative Code that outlines the Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators. This law lays out the professional expectations for educators in the state of Texas.

Ethical Standard 3.1 says that:
- Texas educators shall not reveal confidential information concerning students unless disclosure serves lawful professional purposes or is required by law (Tex. Admin. Code §247.2).

Educators that do not follow the Texas Administrative Code are subject to dismissal by their school district and may lose their educator's certification.

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The primary responsibility of a school counselor is to counsel students to fully develop each student's academic, career, personal, ,and social abilities (Tex. Ed. Code, 2022).

Tex. Ed. Code (2022), Sec. 33.005 directs counselors to develop responsive services to students experiencing personal concerns or problems that might put that student's education, career, personal, or social development at risk. This is one of the expectations of the school's comprehensive school counseling program.

Confidentiality is an integral part of the student/counselor relationship. A student that feels a counselor does not haphazardly share student information is a student that is willing to talk and work with their school counselor. Counselors should be aware of the important statutes that govern that confidentiality.

Sec. 33.006 of the Texas Education Code describes a counselor as an impartial, non-reporting resource for interpersonal conflicts that involve two or more students (Tex. Ed. Code, 2022).

Sec. 33.004 mandates that counselors and schools keep as part of the student's permanent record, written consent of the parent or legal guardian (Tex. Ed. Code, 2022). This section describes confidentiality that falls beyond student/counselor conversations.

By understanding how confidentiality impacts a counselor's practice, counselors can maintain the highest levels of ethical and professional standards.

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A State Law that has an impact on counselor/student confidentiality is the Texas Administrative Code that outlines the Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators. This law lays out the professional expectations for educators in the state of Texas.

Ethical Standard 3.1 says that Texas educators shall not reveal confidential information concerning students unless disclosure serves lawful professional purposes or is required by law (19 TAC §247).

Educators that do not follow the Texas Administrative Code are subject to dismissal by their school district and may lose their educator certification.

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An issue that schools face every day, that impacts student confidentiality, is dealing with cell phones, especially in cases of bullying. As a counselor I am aware that only administrators are allowed to search student belongings.

In Jackson et al v. McCurry et al (2017) parents of a student that had their phone searched sued the school claiming they violated their student’s right to privacy. The court determined that administrators have the right to search a student’s phone without a warrant or student’s consent to investigate alleged threats that constitute a violation of school policy.

Knowing that case law exists to protect schools and administrators helps not only the school and administrators but also students. Students should be educated by counselors to understand the limits of privacy and the rights that schools have under established case law.

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A Federal law that discusses one particular type of confidentiality is the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act also known as FERPA.

FERPA protects a student’s personal information in their educational record. FERPA grants parents and students 18 years or older access to information in the student’s educational record (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act [FERPA], 1974). It also protects that information from being disclosed to third parties without parental consent (FERPA, 1974).

Beyond student information:
-  counselors must be familiar with software, provided by the school, that students use for educational purposes.

- counselors must also ensure that the transfer of student testing data, personal and demographic information is protected ensuring confidentiality.

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The Austin Independent School District outlines professional standards and expectations in the employee handbook.

The first two professional standards for all employees are to recognize and respect student rights, the rights of parents, other employees, and members of the community and to maintain confidentiality in all matters relating to students.

The ethical standards that are listed in the employee handbook are taken from the Texas Administrative Code ethical standards for educators. The first being to maintain confidentiality with all student records unless disclosure is required by law (Tex. Admin. Code, 2018).

Counselors must uphold these ethical and professional standards to be compliant with state and local laws. By doing so counselors will support and serve the needs of their students by being available and honoring confidentiality.

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Counselors must promote awareness of school counselor's ethical standards and legal mandates regarding confidentiality (American School Counselor Association, 2022).

School Counselors adhere to the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Ethical Standards for School Counselors.  ASCA is a professional organization that supports school counselors, counseling students and/or interns and school counseling educators (ASCA, 2022) The standards are the ethical responsibility of all counseling professionals.

The second standard A.2. is to honor student confidentiality by promoting counselor ethical standards by educating the school on confidentiality and how it works (ASCA, 2022). In order to do this, counselors must work with students to inform them on the limits of confidentiality (ASCA, 2022).

Confidentiality is complex and covers a range of issues ranging from handling student records to advocating for workspaces that protect student confidentiality. It is not only about keeping conversations private unless students share that they are hurting themselves, hurting someone else, or in danger of being hurt by someone else. It is important that counselors work with students and staff to help them understand how confidentiality works in the counselor/student or staff relationship.

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Understanding the many facets of confidentiality helped me realize that it is more than just providing a safe space for students to talk knowing that what they say will not leave the space. A counselor's roles and responsibilities place them in potential conflict, daily. From balancing parental and student rights or focusing on sharing personal information like suicidal ideation by personal contact, face to face or directly by phone, with parents instead of email.

My educational goal was to begin learning how to support students and always keep their best interests as my main priority. Advocating for student rights by making them aware of confidentiality and its limits is a great way to develop strong relationships. Understanding the laws and ethical standards regarding confidentiality at the Federal and state levels allows for counselors to have a fair and just counseling practice that fosters open conversation.

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School Counselors aim to protect student confidentiality and create safe and trusted spaces. These spaces help remove perceived barriers that might keep students from seeking support from their counselor. To accomplish this counselors must focus on:

1) Understand and be  familiar with the ASCA Ethical                         Standards for School Counselors.
Familiarity with these standards allows counselors to be.            constant in their practice and creates a just system that            places student interests first.

2) In the state of Texas, the Texas Education Agency has authority to administer and monitor compliance with the education programs required by federal or state law. This includes federal and state funding. Being familiar with TEA  and advocating for funding to help support students.

3) Be familiar with Federal laws that might impact the counseling practice. A Federal law such as the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) guides state law. Not complying with FERPA might lead to losing federal funding for programs.

4) Understand Texas Education Code, 2 §33 and be familiar with how parental rights affect confidentiality. The code also lays out the school counselors general duties. Advocate for responsibilities that allow direct student support in order to develop student academic, career, personal, and social abilities.

5) Be familiar with state administrative codes that outlines professional standards and code of ethics. The Code of Ethics as mandated by the Texas Administrative Code directs educators to follow all state, federal, and local laws (Tex. Admin. Code, 2018).

Tex. Admin. Code (2018) also stipulates that that educators shall not reveal confidential information concerning students unless disclosure serves lawful professional purposes or is required by law.

6) Develop an ethical decision making strategy to resolve ethical conflicts that might arise.

When ethical conflicts with confidentiality arise, an ethical decision making strategy that is just and respects the rights of all people involved should be used to help resolve the conflicts.

A solution that treats all parties equally and takes student rights into consideration will help establish a counseling program that students believe in and can trust.

The ethical standards for counselors mandates that they adhere to  competent consent with their students, educate students on how confidentiality works and its imitations, and recognize parent’s rights is  confidentiality (ASCA, 2022).  When students see that their counselor has a strong ethical standard they are more open and willing to talking and seeking supports from their counselor.

In the end this will best serve the community as a whole.