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Upon completion of a Masters of Education in Guidance Counseling from Angelo State University, I will pursue a position as a school guidance counselor.

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Exploration Option 1 Top 5 According to a Current Professional School Guidance Counselor

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Exploration Option 1 Top 5 According to a Current Professional School Guidance Counselor

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I spoke with Mrs. Trisha Williams, the district guidance counselor, with New Deal ISD. We discussed the legal and ethical issues a counselor may be confronted with and ways to be proactive about policies dealing with legal and ethical issues.
#1:  Confidentiality plays a huge role in ethical and legal areas for a guidance counselor.  One must know the laws when it comes to what you can and cannot share with teachers or parents when it concerns students.
#2:  Current legal issues that are impacting school guidance counselors is their duty to report.  Counselors must report child abuse and suicidal ideation.  There could be severe consequences if such things went unreported.
#3:  Documentation must be regularly monitored and completed.  There are state requirements of specific areas that must be documented.  Counselors must show documentation for areas such as special education, 504 students and CPS referrals.  Documentation shows that students are getting the adequate service they required to receive as well as monitoring student progress.
#4:  Due to legal and ethical issues, policies about suicide have seen some changes.  More resources are made available to students and the suicide assessment has changed to better serve students.
#5:  In order to stay current on important legal and ethical issues in school guidance counseling, one must receive appropriate training on new and changing policies.  Organizations are great resources to help stay current on legal and ethical issues.  Examples of these would be Counselor Solution Group and the Education Service Center.
(T.Williams, personal communication, August 22, 2018)

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Exploration Option 2  ASCD Legal and Ethical Issues

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Exploration Option 2  ASCD Legal and Ethical Issues

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As I read through the ASCD website, I saw many articles dealing with mental health in school.  This involves issues with students that may have suicidal tendencies.  It also includes non-suicidal self-injury.  This refers to students that hurt themselves physically to feel better emotionally (Whitlock & Hasking, 2018)  This site also provided articles that discussed how educators can be and need to be aware of the students mental well-being.  These articles discuss suicide prevention as well as student support and care.
ASCD also provided information about social and emotional well-being of the students and teachers.  The school system has the possibility of being even more successful if the emotional well-being of students and teachers is taken into consideration.

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Exploration Option 2 American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Legal and Ethical Issues 

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Exploration Option 2 American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Legal and Ethical Issues 

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An article on the importance of reporting suicidal ideation and child abuse was a very sobering article on the ASCA web site (Stone, nd).  The role of the counselor was discussed and the importance the counselor plays in a students life by following the guidelines and state statutes.

The ASCA standards are very adamant about the fact that school counselors need to take care of their own emotional health and well being.  By doing so, counselors will be able to make educated decisions to better care for their students

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Legal and Ethical Issues of Interest to Me -  Suicide and Child Abuse Reporting

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Legal and Ethical Issues of Interest to Me -  Suicide and Child Abuse Reporting

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The reporting of suicidal ideation and child abuse is a very important legal and ethical issue for counselors.  A counselor must be able to make legal and ethical decisions that could help save lives.  Reporting these issues is the counselors  responsibility if they have the knowledge of such circumstances, but at the same time, be conscientious of confidentiality.

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Researching Suicide and Child Abuse Reporting

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Researching Suicide and Child Abuse Reporting

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https://www.schoolcounselor.org/magazine/blogs/september-october-2013/suicide-err-on-the-side-of-caution

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What I Learned about Reporting Suicidal Ideation and Child Abuse

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What I Learned about Reporting Suicidal Ideation and Child Abuse

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The role of the school counselor can often times put them in a very difficult situation.  According to the article from the ASU library, counselors can face difficult decisions when it comes to the confidentiality of  students who make suicidal threats.  The choice they make whether to divulge the confidential information or not, could leave the counselor in legal turmoil.

In the article I read on the ASCA web site, it gives great examples of court cases that deal with the counselor's duty to report suicidal ideation (Stone, nd).  The article discusses the importance of the counselor understanding the legal and ethical liability when it comes to the students.

But more importantly, the obligation of the school counselor is to make sure no harm comes to any student.  Sometimes one may have to break confidentiality in order to save a life.  Counselors must keep in mind that caution and discretion are very important in this legal and ethical issue (Stone, nd).

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Researching Suicide and Child Abuse Reporting

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Researching Suicide and Child Abuse Reporting

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http://search.ebscohost.com.easydb.angelo.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&AN=92743982&site=eds-live

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Angelo State University, Office of Communications and Marketing.  Retrieved from https://www.angelo.edu/services/communications_marketing/identity_guidelines/logos.php

Stone, Carolyn, ED. D. (nd). Suicide and child abuse reporting.  Legal Ethical.  Retrieved from http://www.ascaschoolcounselor-digital.org/ascaschoolcounselor/july_august_2018/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1410649#articleId1410649

Whitlock, J. & Hasking, P. (2018, January).  Hurting from the inside out:  Understanding self-injury.  Educational Journal, 75(4).  Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/dec17/vol75/num04/Hurting_From_the_Inside_Out@_Understanding_Self-Injury.aspx