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Upon completion of a Master of counseling, I hope to be employed as a school counselor in High School education. I am currently a High School Behavior Support Intervention teacher as well as a Special Education Case manger. I have been teaching for 5 years.

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Trending right now: school shooting/gun violence, cyberbullying, and keeping students safe as well as school education.

Students should feel safe at school and have the mental help they need to be successful.

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While a school's primary goal is to educate students, another priority is providing a safe environment. It's a responsibility enforced in federal, state and local laws, but ultimately, students can - and do - get hurt. And when they do, many blame the school or district.

Getting scraped up during recess, for instance, isn't new. Neither is getting made fun of by a classmate. Some medical experts call falls and broken bones " inevitable ," and some scholars cite teasing as an " important preparation for life ." But more severe issues, including sexual harassment, cyberbullying and school shootings are increasingly penetrating classrooms, spurring legal disputes over who's responsible.

"School safety is moving from the schoolhouse to the court of public opinion and the law," said school safety consultant Kenneth Trump. "But every case is unique - the legal issues vary, the allegations vary, and that's what makes it hard to pin it down to a handful of specific issues and put it in this neat little box."

Hundreds of lawsuits point the finger at schools or districts when students get injuried. Among the most recent was a suit against Broward County Public Schools and the county sheriff's office - both of which a federal judge said didn't have a legal duty to protect students - after the Parkland, Florida, shooting. These cases span different issues and reached varying verdicts, but they involve the same question: To what degree are these entities liable for students' safety?

Below, we've broken down a list of cases involving a school or district's role in student safety. Here's what happened and what they mean in the debate:

M.S.D. of Martinsville v. Rebecca Jackson

What happened: In March 2011, two students at West Martinsville Middle School in Indiana were injured in a shooting: One, who was shot twice in the stomach, was targeted by the shooter - a former student known to threaten and harass his peers -

Though the shooter threatened the victim several times - and threats were reported to teachers before the shooting - teachers didn't tell the administration, court documents say. Additionally, in the suit, the victim's mother said the district didn't protect her son because certain school entrances were left unlocked and monitors weren't properly warned about the shooter being a threat, among other alleged safety breaches.

While the district argued the suit should be dismissed because it couldn't have reasonably prevented the shooting, an appeals court disagreed.

What this means: This ruling shows schools or districts can be found liable if evidence proves the event could have reasonably been prevented, either because officials had reason to believe it would take place or if their response protocol wasn't sufficiently implemented.

Scarlett Lewis, et al. v. Newtown Board of Education and Town of Newtown

What happened: In one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012.

In her decision, the judge said, "...Faculty and staff had to make split-second decisions ... and subjecting their decisions to scrutiny, aided by hindsight, would no less serve the public interest than subjecting a police officer's discretionary decisions to second guessing."

She added, "Emergencies, by their very nature, are sudden and often rapidly evolving events, and a response can never be 100% scripted and directed."

According to this ruling, school officials can have similar protections to police officers. Even if a school has a safety protocol, it's hard to force people to have scripted emergency responses without taking split-second judgment into account. And if someone gets hurt, it's not necessarily something for which a school or district is liable.

Sexual misconduct

Mitchell v. Cedar Rapids Community School District

One day, the 9th-grader got her mother's permission to go to a friend's house after school, but she skipped last period. The 12th-grader raped her that afternoon. While the school day had ended when the rape happened, the girl's mom didn't know her daughter missed last period, and there were no special requirements for handling absences in her Individualized Education Program (IEP). Her mother sued the district for negligence, failing to monitor her daughter and notify her in a timely manner.

The district argued that because the rape didn't happen during school hours or on school grounds, it wasn't legally liable. But the Iowa Supreme Court ruled it could have been prevented.

What this means: This ruling doesn't imply a district or school is legally obligated to protect students outside of school hours or off school grounds in non-school activities. However, it does show that in certain cases, if evidence shows it either could have predicted or prevented such an incident from happening, they could be liable.

Shawnee Mathis, et al. v. Wayne County Board of Education, et al.

After the coach first heard about the incident, he allegedly didn't report it. One boy's parent later told the school, and the 8th-graders who were responsible were suspended for 10 days. The other boy's parent went to the school with concerns about what happened, but the suit alleges the principal didn't seem too troubled by it.

The boys continued to face harassment and were later pulled out of school. The school took some steps to prevent locker room misconduct, but in a disciplinary hearing, a committee of school officials chose not to suspend the 8th-graders for the rest of the basketball season, and the Wayne County Board of Education moved up their reinstatement date.

tudents and families who file suit often face many hurdles in proving a school or district is liable. According to the What this means: S Associated Press, districts in some states - including Virginia and Georgia - have "absolute immunity" from state-level lawsuits, while others, such as Florida, cap amounts schools must pay in damages. It's possible for a school to be held accountable, but it can be a high bar to hit.

Bullying/harassment

Kowalski v. Berkeley County Schools

When the victim and her parents filed a harassment complaint with the school, the site's creator was suspended for five days for the so-called "hate website," which violated school bullying, harassment and intimidation policies. She sued, claiming her First Amendment rights were violated, because her site was private and was created outside of school.

"foreseeable " that the website would "create a substantial disruption in the school, " therefore allowing the school to control the student's speech.

Wyke v. Polk County School Board

What happened: The mother of Shawn Wyke, a 13-year-old who died by suicide, sued her son's district in Polk County, Florida, alleging administrators knew he tried to commit suicide twice at school before his death. When the dean of students found out about Wyke's first attempt, he called the student into his office and read Bible verses, according to court documents. He thought they made Wyke feel better and that he did all he could that day.

Wyke's mother sued the school board, the vice principal and the principal, alleging there was inadequate intervention and prevention training for school employees that contributed to her son's wrongful death. A district court ruled the district could be found liable due to a failure to notify Wyke's parents about what happened, and their knowledge of his two attempts made the incident foreseeable.

What this means: Hundreds of students die by suicide each year, and many parents or guardians argue schools could have done more to prevent this. But in the past, courts often haven't deemed schools and districts liable for student suicides unless it was clear officials knew a student was suicidal and did nothing, or if they intentionally made things worse.

However, the sampling of cases to examine is relatively limited. Since this suit was filed, several schools and/or districts are facing legal action for their alleged liability in similar incidents. The outcomes of those cases will reveal a lot about where the line is drawn for schools' and districts' legal responsibilities.

Brewington v. Philadelphia School District

More than a year later, the boy's mother sued the elementary school and the Philadelphia School District, alleging the lack of padding on the gym walls was dangerous and constituted negligence. The school argued it was immune from the suit, but in a December 2018 ruling, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected this claim.

The court said this incident qualified as an exception to the immunity provision, giving the boy's mom a right to sue. According to the "" if an agency doesn't put adequate safety features in place for normal or reasonable use of property, it can be sued. In this case, the court found, the lack of padding could constitute negligence.

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To what extent are districts, schools liable for students' safety?

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While a school's primary goal is to educate students, another priority is providing a safe environment. It's a responsibility enforced in federal, state and local laws, but ultimately, students can - and do - get hurt. And when they do, many blame the school or district.

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Step 2; Exploration option 2: National Education Association (NEA) 

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Step 2; Exploration option 2: National Education Association (NEA) 

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Reading through the website the main concern is funding for counselors and mental health services. A new bill for budget was passed to increase education funding in the areas of students in title I and IDEA.

This has been one of the largest single year increase in programs history. It will support school counselors and school based mental health.

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Step 3: Legal and Ethical issue of interest to me: Consent 

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Step 3: Legal and Ethical issue of interest to me: Consent 

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School Counselors have a lot of legal and ethical things to follow. The one that interest me the most is consent. Being a behavior teacher has put me in many situations where I had to decide if it was ethically justified to share the information. I feel like teachers, counselors, and administrators should have more training and staff development over consent.

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In my search of the Angelo State University Library, I found a journal about school counseling titled "An Ethics Challenge for School Counselors: Part 2" by Janet G. Froeschle Hicks, Nicole Noble, Steve Berry,

Steve Talbert, Charles Crews, and Jiaqi Li, and Yvette Castillo that talks about all the ethics that school counselors face on a daily day. The article talks about different situations that counselors face when speaking with students.

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Minor children still need to give consent and how it differs for them. This article talks about how minors still have rights and counselors can speak with them without parental consent to a certain degree.

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What I have gathered through all this research is that having consent from a student during a counseling session has many ethical decisions involved. School counselors have to take into account whether the student is in harm or going to harm someone else. Counselors also have to think about ways to talk to teachers about students without breaking confidentially.

Scenarios or situations in my future field of school counseling are very broad. It can range from a student asking for help from their home such as being abused. It can deal with harming themselves or others. Whether a student is getting their correct medicine or refusing to take it at school. As a future school counselor I need to be aware of when and when not to speak about confidential things with others such as parents and teachers. Knowing the limit as to how much to share.

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Froeschle Hicks, Janet G, et al. “Journal of School Counseling .” Journal of School Counseling , vol. 2, 1 Jan. 2014.

Hansen , Susan. “Confidentiality Guidelines For School Counselors.” Confidentiality Guidelines For School Counselors, 2009, www.school-counseling-zone.com/support-files/confidentiality-guidelines-for-school-counselors-short-version.pdf.

“Home | American School Counselor Association (ASCA).” Home | American School Counselor Association (ASCA), 2019, www.schoolcounselor.org/.

“Issues and Action .” NEA, 2019, www.nea.org/home/1019.htm.

“Legal / Courts.” Legal News, 2019, www.educationdive.com/topic/legal-courts/.

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Step 2; Exploration option 1: Top 5 legal and ethical issues

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Step 2; Exploration option 1: Top 5 legal and ethical issues

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I spoke with the school's LSSP (Licensed Specialist in School Psychology), Jill Pewthers.

1. Current legal issues impacting her work is parents/students consent and when to tell more.
2. Legal requirements that are regularly monitored; testing dates are in compliance.
3. Legal situation she is worried about is staying in compliance with dates and making sure all her students receive their counseling sessions.
4. Receiving legal training monthly during appraisal meetings with supervisor
5. How you stay current on legal issues is monthly training and being apart of a Licensed Specialist group.

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Step 2; Exploration option 2: American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Legislative affairs: 

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Step 2; Exploration option 2: American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Legislative affairs: 

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Looking over the website I noticed two major concerns; universities/school districts having shortage of school counselors and expanding safe schools with better mental health services.

Even if schools get more funding they should be able to decide how to use the funding. I.e. school staffing ratio, provide incentives, and crisis team

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Legislative Affairs | American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

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consent and how it differs for them. This article talks about how minors still have rights and counselors can speak with them without parental consent to a certain degree. 
 
confidentiality-guidelines-for-school-counselors-short-version.pdf
PDF document
www.school-counseling-zone.com



Step 5: 
Step 5: 
What I have gathered through all this research is that having consent from a student during a counseling session has many ethical decisions involved. School counselors have to take into account whether the student is in harm or going to harm someone else. Counselors also have to think about ways to talk to teachers about students without breaking confidentially. 

Scenarios or situations in my future field of school counseling are very broad. It can range from a student asking for help from their home such as being abused. It can deal with harming themselves or others. Whether a student is getting their correct medicine or refusing to take it at school. As a future school counselor I need to be aware of when and when not to speak about confidential things with others such as parents and teachers. Knowing the limit as to how much to share. 
 



References: 
References: 
Froeschle Hicks, Janet G, et al. “Journal of School Counseling .” Journal of School Counseling , vol. 2, 1 Jan. 2014.

Hansen , Susan. “Confidentiality Guidelines For School Counselors.” Confidentiality Guidelines For School Counselors, 2009, www.school-counseling-zone.com/support-files/confidentiality-guidelines-for-school-counselors-short-version.pdf.

“Home | American School Counselor Association (ASCA).” Home | American School Counselor Association (ASCA), 2019, www.schoolcounselor.org/.

“Issues and Action .” NEA, 2019, www.nea.org/home/1019.htm.

“Legal / Courts.” Legal News, 2019, www.educationdive.com/topic/legal-courts/.




Step 2; Exploration option 1: Top 5 legal and ethical issues
Step 2; Exploration option 1: Top 5 legal and ethical issues
I spoke with the school's LSSP (Licensed Specialist in School Psychology), Jill Pewthers. 

1. Current legal issues impacting her work is parents/students consent and when to tell more. 
2. Legal requirements that are regularly monitored; testing dates are in compliance.
3. Legal situation she is worried about is staying in compliance with dates and making sure all her students receive their counseling sessions. 
4. Receiving legal training monthly during appraisal meetings with supervisor 
5. How you stay current on legal issues is monthly training and being apart of a Licensed Specialist group.  






Step 2; Exploration option 2: American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Legislative affairs: 