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Local School District Policy: Pflugerville ISD states that students may access school counselors for emotional and mental health issues. Parents may access students counseling records. In addition to reports to Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, students experiencing abuse may access counseling services (Pflugerville ISD, 2024).

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1723151515/pfisdnet/sti7iqfxmffstqex1dtf/2024-25_PfISDStudentHandbook.pdf

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Be Transparent: Students and their parents should be informed of confidentiality rights and its limitations.

Discretion: Consultation and collaboration may be necessary but be discreet and cautious about what information needs to be shared.

Document Accordingly: Maintain appropriate records as required by the school district while recognizing school counselors may not treat or diagnose. All records can be viewed by parents if requested.

Safety First: School counselors are mandated reporters and student safety is top priority. Regardless of what is shared, if you suspect abuse you are legally required to report it.

Privacy: If schools partner to provide access to outside tele-therapy, ensure students have supervised but private space to meet to maintain confidentiality when possible.

Role Model: Practice maintaining privacy in interactions professionally not just in counseling sessions. Consistent use of confidentiality instills trust in students, faculty, and staff and develops an awareness that school counselors are ethical professionals who can be respected and trusted to perform their job responsibilites.

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As an elementary school counselor I am ethically bound to maintain student confidentiality while recognizing that parents may have access to any documentation I have on their children. It is important for me to inform students of the limits of confidentiality especially when providing ongoing individual and small group counseling services. While there are legal similarties and requirements between the school counseling and licensed professional counseling profession, there are privileges they have that I'm not privy to as a certified educator and school counselor. I need to remember my scope of practice when counseling minors and parents request for information.

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Federal: While there are no explicit laws addressing minors privacy or confidentiality in the U.S. Constitution, minors are protected by the fourth amendment which protects individuals from unreasonable search and seizure (U.S. Const. amend. IV).

https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-iv

State: The Texas Constitution outlines similar protections for minors without explicitly outlining privacy law. Minors and their possessions are provided from protection of unlawful search and seizures without a warrant (Tex. Const. art. I, § 9).

https://tlc.texas.gov/docs/legref/TxConst.pdf

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National Constitution Center - The 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

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The 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

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The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

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The Supreme Court case Jaffee v. Redmond determined that information shared between a client and their licensed mental health therapist or professional is confidential. This case helped establish that confidentiality is critical to the counseling relationship and helps promote mental health access as more are willing to seek mental health treatment as information is protected (Jaffee v. Redmond 512 U.S. 1).

https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep518/usrep518001/usrep518001.pdf

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Federal: The U.S. Department of Education is overseen by the U.S. Congress to help implement policy, federal laws, and regulations regarding public education. While the U.S. Department does not act as a sole legislative agency regarding school counseling profession they do reinforce federal laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act which protects student privacy of educational records (U.S. Department of Education, 2025). Texas is required to adhere to FERPA in all public and charter schools.

State: Texas Education Agency is a state agency overseen by the Texas Legislature. The Texas Education Agency oversees the school counseling certification and program requirements. The TEA helps enforce state laws regarding school counselor responsibilities and duties outlined in the Texas Education Code (Texas Education Agency, 2024).

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Informed Consent: Helps insure that the client and their parent or guardian if minors are aware of the scope of counseling services they are receiving and what is protected information.

Documentation: Parents can request access to student counseling records. Provides client service history and can be subpeoned in legal circumstances. It is important for providers to keep concise, accurate, and updated in a timely manner.

Consultation: Consultation particularly for challenging cases with district counseling adminstrators and coordinators can help ensure school counselors make appropriate counseling interventions that are in the best interest of the child's overall development.

(Barnett & Grammatico, 2024)

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The American School Counselor Association ethical code A.2.f states that school counselors should keep information confidential unless legally required to do otherwise. ASCA ethical code A.2.g also calls school counselors to recognize the balance between student confidentiality and parents rights. Ethical codes A.2.l and A.2.m caution school counselors against sharing highly sensitive information and the medium in which it is shared. (American School Counselor Association, 2022). School counselors should take the apporpriate safeguards to protect student information while recognizing that there are legal circumstances in which information may be required to be shared.

https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/44f30280-ffe8-4b41-9ad8-f15909c3d164/EthicalStandards.pdf

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The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 is a federal regulation that protects the privacy of an individuals health information including mental heath. If a minor can consent to their own mental health treatment, a parent's consent may not be necessary. If a parent agrees to a confidential relationship between the minor and the mental health provider, then parental access to the information may be limited. (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Pub. L. No. 104-191, 1996).

https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/index.html

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Confidentiality is an essential component to the counseling relationship. Minors are entitled to aspects of privacy with their counselors and mental health professionals even in the school setting where parents may have access to student records and information. School counselors, social workers, and mental health professionals should be aware of the legal and ethical guidelines in order to maintain the confidentiality of minors when providing services. Counseling professionals should also be vigilant when providing virtual counseling or teletherapy to minors where the setting compromises confidentiality to a greater degree.

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Statute: Texas Education Code 26.004 states that parents are entitled to access student records including counseling records, psychological records, and school counselor evaluations such as suicide risk assessments (26 Tex. Education Code §26.004, 2019). Written documentation maintained about students by school counselors may be accessed by parents especially if contained within cumulative files. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/docs/ed/htm/ed.26.htm

Administrative Law: The Texas Educator Code of Ethics states educators should not reveal confidential information about students unless legally required to do so (19 Tex. Admin. Code §247.2).

https://texas-sos.appianportalsgov.com/rules-and-meetings?$locale=en_US&interface=VIEW_TAC_SUMMARY&queryAsDate=07%2F20%2F2025&recordId=192646

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EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 26. PARENTAL RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES