Legal and Ethical Guide: School Counseling by Morgan Gainey

mgainey10 — 2025-09-30 00:36:48 UTC

As an educator, I have seen the value of legal and ethical principles on student and staff success and wellbeing. This guide is a resource for educators, more specifically school counselors, to understand the application of legal and ethical principles to the field. An important topic in the realm of school counseling is student advocacy. According to Stone, "Legal understanding, coupled with school counselors’ and school administrators’ imperative to advocate, is formidable social capital and increases the odds that both disciplines will have sway in systemic change and support of individual students" (2022, p. 6).

mgainey10 — 2025-09-30 01:08:33 UTC

The governing agency at the state level is Texas Education Agency (TEA). At the federal level, the governing agencies are the U.S. Department of Education, as well as, American School Counselor Assocation (ASCA). These agencies create regulations and policies under administrative law, but are confined by the authority given them by Congress (Library of Congress, n.d.).

Reference:

mgainey10 — 2025-09-30 01:09:03 UTC

Stone, C. (2022). Special issue: Creating social capital through school counselor-principal collaboration: School administrators and school counselors' legal and ethical alliance. Professional School Counseling, 26(1c):1-9. 10.1177/2156759X221134668

Reference:

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 00:44:43 UTC

Library of Congress. (n.d.). Legal research: A guide to administrative law: Rules and rulemaking. Research Guides at Library of Congress. https://guides.loc.gov/administrative-law/rules

Federal Constitutional Law and Student Advocacy

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 00:49:48 UTC

The Constitution of the United States

(U.S. Const.)

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

The preamble
Establishing justice
Promoting general welfare

The Constitution is the foundation from which all other law comes.

State Constitutional Law and Student Advocacy

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 00:50:01 UTC

Article 1, Section 3 of the Texas Constitution

(Tex. Const. art 1, § 3a)

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.1/CN.1.3a.htm

Relating to equality which cannot be denied
No discriminating sex, race, color, creed, national origin

State constitution is created from the legal principles of the U.S. Constitution and serves as the foundation of state law.

Administrative Law and Student Advocacy

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 01:22:30 UTC

Title 19, Section 78.2001 of the Texas Administrative Code

(19 Tex. Admin. Code §78.2001 (2025))

https://texas-sos.appianportalsgov.com/rules-and-meetings?$locale=en_US&interface=VIEW_TAC_SUMMARY&queryAsDate=10%2F06%2F2025&recordId=225365

Student postsecondary success
college and career readiness
Removal of barriers to student success

Federal Regulations and Student Advocacy

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 01:23:14 UTC

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

(Civil Rights Act, 1964)

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:42%20section:2000d%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section2000d)&f=treesort&num=0&edition=prelim

This federal regulation demonstrates the long-time need for advocacy. In the context of education, this regulation requires actionable advocacy in the role of school counseling to remove systemic barriers.

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 01:23:28 UTC

Roscoe Collegiate ISD School Board Policy-Equal Educational Opportunity

(Roscoe Collegiate ISD, 2023)

https://pol.tasb.org/PolicyOnline/PolicyDetails?key=940&code=FB#legalTabContent

This board policy requires the removal of barriers to students' education through advocacy efforts.

Risk Management Related to Student Advocacy

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 01:23:40 UTC

Training in effective advocacy strategies
Advocacy intertwined in all areas of a comprehensive school counseling program
Training students in self-advocacy skills

These three points demonstrate the holistic approach for advocacy in schools. School counselors advocate for students on a variety of topics to remove any barriers to success (Haskins, N., and Singh, A., 2016).

Ethical Considerations for Student Advocacy

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 01:23:53 UTC

ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors

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

Section A.6.a of ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors (2022) states, "Collaborate with all relevant stakeholders, including students, school faculty/staff and parents/guardians, when students need assistance, including when early warning signs of student distress are identified" (p. 3). Consultation and collaboration create a mutual effort from all stakeholders to overcome barriers to student success. Advocacy requires communication to resolve a problem or concern.

Personal and Professional Connections

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 01:24:07 UTC

One of the largest roles of a school counselor is that of an advocate; for self, staff, and most importantly, students. The purpose of a school counseling program is to meet students where they are and help them get to where they want to be despite the challenges. The legal connections to advocacy in school counseling has provided me with the knowledge and confidence to provide more ethical services to all students.

My years in the educational setting have driven me to pursue a role where advocacy is at the heart. I have seen firsthand the need for student advocacy, which includes building the skill of student self-advocacy. This legal and ethical research has strengthened my passion for the school counseling role as it relates to advocating for all students in all areas.

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 01:24:25 UTC

Not knowing legal or ethical obligations is not an excuse
Always refer back to the legal or ethical elements of a dilemma
Receive training on advocacy strategies
Teach self-advocacy to students
Understand how legal principles interact with one another and which proceeds the other
Collaboration, consultation, and coordination for all students.

Statutes and Student Advocacy

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 01:36:54 UTC

Section 33 of the Texas Education Code

(Tex. Educ. Code § 33.006)

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.33.htm

Provision of a school counseling program that serves all students
Collaboration, consultation, and coordination for students
Full development of the four comprehensive areas

Case Law and Student Advocacy

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 02:48:53 UTC

Doe v. Unified School Dist., 255 F. Supp. 2d 1239 (D. Kan. 2003)

(Doe v. Unified School Dist., 2003)

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/255/1239/2562555/

This case is a prime example of state law in lieu of local policy. This shows the heirarchy in law. This particular case law comes from the lack of student advocacy through mandatory reporting.

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 03:38:05 UTC

Haskins, N., & Singh, A. (2016). Advocacy competency of school counselors: An exploratory factor analysis. Professional School Counseling, 20(1), 149-158. https://journals-sagepub-com.easydb.angelo.edu/doi/pdf/10.5330/1096-2409-20.1.149

Reference:

mgainey10 — 2025-10-07 03:48:20 UTC

American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. Schoolcounselor.org. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/44f30280-ffe8-4b41-9ad8-f15909c3d164/EthicalStandards.pdf