Legal and Ethical Principles for School Counselors by Sasha Maryland https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8 My Exploration en-us 2018-06-06 04:19:08 UTC 2026-03-16 02:25:06 UTC hello@padlet.com Professional Perspective-Step smaryland https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266492129 Upon receiving my Master of Education in Guidance and Counseling degree is to become a high school counselor. My goal is to help create confidence in students in high school and beyond by providing them the tools to be successful.]]> 2018-06-10 18:55:50 UTC https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266492129 Exploration Option 1-Top 5 Things I Learned About Legal and Ethical Issues Facing Our High School smaryland https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266494250 In speaking with our high school's most experienced counselors, Rosalyn Greer, I asked her several questions about any legal and ethical issues that she has experienced recently at our school.  The following are the top 5 things I learned about Legal and Ethical Issues facing our high school:
#1-Two years ago, our school revised a policy regarding transgender students using restrooms according to what gender that they identified with. In order to be in compliance with the Department of Education's "Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students"  (2016), the school designated specific bathrooms around campus to help those students who wanted additional privacy. A reason for this was not only to be in compliance, but for transgender students to feel safe in using those facilities without facing possible ridicule from either gender.
#2-In order to have a balance of compliance to the DOE's "Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students" (2016) and respecting the parental rights as well, our school requires that if a student wants his/her educational records to reflect their preferred gender, there will need to be a letter or email from parents officially requesting that to be changed in the system. The reasoning behind this is that there was an encounter where a parent was calling Mrs. Greer about her child and referred to them by their legal name, not the name that the student wanted to be called. It caused confusion and once Mrs. Greer figured it out, she didn't know if the parent was aware that the student had "masculine" name that the student wanted to be called.
#3-The most current legal issue that she was involved in was earlier in the year when a parent wanted to sue the school because she stated that the school didn't do enough to ensure that her child wasn't exposed to any foods that would affect his food allergies. She claimed that the school was careless and that her student's needs and requests for his safety weren't being followed. According to Mrs. Greer, the case was dropped because faculty and staff continuously documented when they wiped all desks down before he walked into class (with wipes provided by the parent), escorted him to a sanitized area for lunch, and put signs outside of classrooms where he attended stating to other students that food was not allowed. Faculty and staff followed the parent's instructions very closely, so the parent "didn't have a legal leg to stand on." It was found that the school "did everything possible to keep the student safe."
#4-According to Mrs. Greer, our school has not encountered any recent situations where they were worried about legal and/or ethical implications. She stated that confidentiality and compliance are extremely closely monitored by the district, especially because the district does not want to be blind-sided by anything that could be an embarrassment for the schools within their district.
#5-However, if a staff and/or faculty member is sued, he/she has the right to representation if that were to happen. 

(R.Greer, phone interview, June 6, 2018) .

]]> 2018-06-10 19:26:10 UTC https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266494250 Exploration Option 3-Education Week Article smaryland https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266494808 An opinion blog for Education Week website titled, "Why A Revelation About the Parkland School Shooter's Disciplinary History Matters", explores the idea that Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and Broward County School District did not do enough to prevent the February 14th school shooting earlier this year. After police investigation, questions were raised why the shooter's, Nikolas Cruz, constant bad behavior wasn't taken more seriously and reported to the police earlier. School administrators had reported that Cruz was seeing school counselors and was "referred for a threat assessment...but it isn't clear if such an assessment was completed" (Blad, 2018). Reading this article showed me that the behaviors of this students seemed to have fallen through the cracks legally (and possibly ethically) speaking by all administration, including the counselors and district.]]> 2018-06-10 19:33:53 UTC https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266494808 Considering Disciplinary History of School Violence Offenders-Step 3 (Selection of Topic) smaryland https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266495494 I decided to choose the legal/ethical issue of how the disciplinary history of school violence offenders have been overlooked either purposely or accidentally by administrators, including counselors. Because of recent events, this is a highly relevant issue of school safety that doesn't seem to have been addressed in as much detail as I would like.]]> 2018-06-10 19:44:38 UTC https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266495494 Exploration Option 3-Counseling Today Article smaryland https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266512443 An opinion article in "Counseling Today" reveals what schools can learn from the controversial Netflix series, "13 Reasons Why". The authors strive to provide recommendations to the issue of teen suicide and what we can do to decrease the instances of deaths. They also suggest that even though the series is very graphic and uncomfortable for parents and administrators, that it is important to talk to children about the subject matter and listen to "listen deeply and without judgement to what their children have to say." (Shannonhouse, Whisenhunt, Lin and Porter, 2017). They argue that showing empathy (school officials, peers, and parents alike), can possibly greatly reduce the chance of a child committing suicide.]]> 2018-06-11 00:01:29 UTC https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266512443 Considering Disciplinary History Of School Violence Offenders-Step 4 (Academic Resource) smaryland https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266523539 While looking through the ASU Library, I came across an interesting book titled, "School Shooters: Understanding High School, College and Adult Perpetrators" by Peter Langman. Langman provides case studies, patterns and possible solutions in helping to decrease the number of school shootings. He gives background into the offender's personal life, possible disabilities, and school life in order to help the reader get a holistic view of why he/she could commit such a horrible act. ]]> 2018-06-11 02:14:08 UTC https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266523539 Considering Disciplinary History Of School Violence Offenders-Step 4 (Website Resource) smaryland https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266525026 While performing an internet search about my topic, I found an association website named the "National Education Association (NEA). It lists the "Three Keys to School Safety and Gun Violence Prevention." (2017) . It discusses increasing mental health services, creating safe learning environments, and taking more action on gun prevention.]]> 2018-06-11 02:30:14 UTC https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266525026 Summary of Considering Disciplinary History Of School Violence Offenders-Step 5 smaryland https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266526389 From the research that I have done for this project, there is some consensus of what needs to be done before a school shooting happens. Although it is human nature to want to profile violent offenders and have somewhat of an idea of what a school shooter should look like, there is no way to assess if student will commit these sort of crimes just by the way he/she looks or even their background history. I did find that just because a student has a questionable history at previous schools, does not necessarily mean that he/she will become a school shooter.

Sources also agree that implementing more police involvement in schools along with metal detectors aren't realistic or solving the problem (Langston 181).

But with that being said, sources do agree that the motivation for these shootings did not come from left field.  What my research has led me to was that the only way to help reduce the number of school shootings is offering more programs to help students find safe, alternative ways to express their feelings that motivates these behaviors. The National Education Association website suggests that students need "more exposure to peer mediation groups...and character education in order to minimize conflict and harmful behavior" (NEA 2017). This seems to be what is needed ethically to keep our kids safe.

This topic is extremely important to my career as a counselor and as a member of my community. My role is extremely important in implementing these types of programs and to communicate their importance to my fellow administrators, faculty and staff. I believe that not only counselors, but every member in a student's life has an ethical obligation to keep our children safe and to save those  who would consider pursuing this horrible act.]]> 2018-06-11 02:43:08 UTC https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266526389 References smaryland https://padlet.com/smaryland/9idikc27u4w8/wish/266530326 Blad, Evie. “Why a Revelation About the Parkland School Shooter's Disciplinary History Matters.” Education Week - Teacher Beat, 8 May 2018, blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rulesforengagement/2018/05/why_a_revelation_about_the_parkland_school_shooters_disciplinary_history_matters.html?r=29817452.

Greer, R. (201, June 6). Phone Interview.

Langman, Peter (2017). School Shooters: Understanding High School, College, and Adult Perpetrators . Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Shannonhouse, Laura, et al. “'13 Reasons Why': Strengths, Challenges and Recommendations.” Counseling Today, American Counseling Association, 4 Sept. 2017, ct.counseling.org/2017/09/13-reasons-why-strengths-challenges-and-recommendations/.

“Three Keys to School Safety and Gun Violence Prevention.” (n.d.)
NEA, Retrieved from www.nea.org/home/54092.htm.


















 

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