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Step 1-My Personal/Professional Perspective 

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Step 1-My Personal/Professional Perspective 

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Following the completion of my M. Ed. in Guidance and Counseling, I intend to work as a school counselor at the elementary level. During this time, I hope to log the clinic hours necessary to become a licensed therapist; continuing on to a private practice for child therapy.

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Step 2- Exploration- Option 1: Interview with Dr. M. Cummings, Principal, Sherrod Elementary

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Step 2- Exploration- Option 1: Interview with Dr. M. Cummings, Principal, Sherrod Elementary

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Top 5 legal and ethical issues as presented by an elementary school principal:

1. When students receive a legally-binding Individualized Education Program or IEP, the principal must ensure all services are being provided to those students.  Students who receive special services from the counselor must receive those services for the predetermined number of minutes each week.

2. Due to Texas state law prohibiting removal of students in grades K-2 due to behavior, there is an increase in the demands on the school counselor to support aggressive students in the school.

3. Students who are in need of counseling services may have parents who refuse.  This occurred earlier this year, leading to a students being hurt.

4. Due to confidentiality restrictions, there have been issues arise where the principle is limited in what she can share with the staff and community.  This has created stress and unease throughout the school.

5. The school district offers limited professional development regarding new laws that impact the school environment. Due to these limitations, Dr. Cummings must personally seek out resources to establish best practice in de-escalation and restorative practices for the counseling program.

(M. Cummings, personal communication, Mar. 19, 2019)

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Step 2- Exploration- Option 4: Books of Law 

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Step 2- Exploration- Option 4: Books of Law 

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Confidentiality-
According to the Texas Education Code § 26.001, all written records pertaining to a students must be released upon parent request. This includes confidential conversations between the student and counselor. The only exception to this law is if the counselor is a licensed professional counselor, the records have been shared with no one, and the counselor determines it would be harmful to the student to disclose.  As outlined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), information pertaining to students can also be shared with other school personnel who has a legitimate educational interest (Walsh, Maniotis, & Kemerer, 2018).

Referrals
According to Studer (2015), referrals can be necessary for school counselors when there is a conflict of interest, for example, if the counselor has a personal relationship with either the student or the student's family. Referrals may also be necessary in cases where the school counselor feels he or she is unable to meet the needs of the student involved. In the case of a referral, best practice dictates that the counselor offer a network of providers for families to choose from rather than just one. This is done to avoid appearing bias, as well as giving families the power to choose the best provider for themselves.

References

Family Educational Rights and    Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C.A  § 1232g (1974).

Studer, J. R. (2015). The essential school counselor in a changing society. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Texas Education Code, 26 § 001 (May 30, 1995).

Walsh, J., Maniotis, L., & Kemerer, F. R. (2018). The educators guide to Texas school law. Austin: University of Texas Press.

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Step 3-Choose one of the legal and ethical issues

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Step 3-Choose one of the legal and ethical issues

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I have chosen to address the topic of confidentiality between a student and his or her counselor. In my research and discussions, this topic came up repeatedly, and seems to have the most impact on how records are kept; differing greatly from private practice guidelines.

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When discussing student confidentiality there is a marked difference between the legal precedents regarding parental rights and the ethical standards of confidentiality between a counselor and his or her patient. Currently in the state of Texas, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 clearly states that all written documentation pertaining to a student must be released to the parents upon request; however, this creates an ethical dilemma for many counselors. Students who see a counselor are guaranteed confidentiality in most cases, leading counselors to make the difficult decision of when to disclose the content of  privileged conversations with others. Moyer and Sullivan go on to claim that this  potential for loss of confidentiality may lead some minors to avoiding counseling all together rather than risking their privacy being breached.

One situation which arises repeatedly regarding confidentiality and the client patient relationship, is the concept of imminent danger to the client or to others by the client.  As Lazovsky (2008) states, the conflict between legal standards and ethical guidelines is often be left to the counselor's best discretion. The American School Counselors Association has guidelines to assist counselors in making these decisions, but as Moyer and Sullivan (2008) state, this still leaves counselors with the responsibility of determining the best course of action which can be defended in terms of ethical decision making. Even within this caveat, there is a necessity for counselor discretion in determining when dangerous behaviors are imminent. In Moyer and Sullivan's 2008 study, they found that many counselors measure the severity of self-harm behaviors based on their personal value system as well as the age of the students involved. This can lead to a variety of counselors making a variety of decisions regarding breaching confidentiality between themselves and their patients.  An additional difficulty in this lies in the liability of the counselor.  As Walsh, Maniotis, and Kemerer (2018) state, counselors who failed to disclose imminent danger to the appropriate law enforcement or medical personnel may be held personally liable should an injury result from the choice to maintain confidence.

Patient confidentiality is a complex issue in the life of a school counselor. There are legal precedents requiring counselors to disclose any written information gathered through the course of their care for a student to parents and stakeholders as necessary.  Additionally counselors may be personally liable should they fail to disclose imminent danger to the correct medical or law enforcement personnel.  These potential breaches of confidentiality may lead some minors to eschew counseling in favor of maintaining privacy.

Ultimately, the choice to disclose confidential information relies on the counselor to make what he or she views as the best ethical decision for his or her client.  The implications for my future as a counselor require me to create a network of trusted professionals with whom I can consult when I encounter a situation which causes me to consider breaching confidence.  In addition, it becomes increasingly important to establish the guidelines through which confidence may be broken before engaging in counseling services with students.

References
Family Educational Rights and    Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C.A  § 1232g (1974).

Lazovsky, R. (2008). Maintaining Confidentiality with Minors: Dilemmas of School Counselors. Professional School Counseling,11(5). doi:10.1177/2156759x0801100507

Moyer, M., & Sullivan, J. (2008). Student Risk-Taking Behaviors: When Do School Counselors Break Confidentiality? Professional School Counseling,11(4). doi:10.1177/2156759x0801100404

Walsh, J., Maniotis, L., & Kemerer, F. R. (2018). The educators guide to Texas school law. Austin: University of Texas Press.

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Step 4- Researching the legal issue: Internet Resource

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Step 4- Researching the legal issue: Internet Resource

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Maintaining Confidentiality with
Minors: Dilemmas of School
Counselors by R. Lazvosky.  From American School Counselors Association

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Step 4- Researching the legal issue: Library

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Step 4- Researching the legal issue: Library

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Student Risk-Taking Behaviors: When do School Counselors Break Confidentiality? by M. Moyer and J. Sullivan

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Angelo State University - Library Online Resources

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