Legal and Ethical Principles by https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o Legal Issues Exploration Activity en-us 2018-06-05 03:26:59 UTC 2024-12-16 12:26:24 UTC hello@padlet.com Future High School Counselor fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/295124972 After completing my Master's Degree in Guidance and Counseling this December, I hope to serve as a high school counselor next year, preferably at one of the two high schools between which I currently travel each day as the district French Teacher. ]]> 2018-10-20 23:33:53 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/295124972 Confidentiality fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/295134502 I chose the ethical and legal issue of confidentiality, and circumstances which require counselors to share information about students. As a future counselor, this topic is of great concern to me because even though maintaining a relationship of trust is paramount to students' willingness to share feelings and concerns with counselors, situations arise when the best interest of the student necessitates a breach in confidentiality to protect the child or others involved. ]]> 2018-10-21 02:59:54 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/295134502 fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/295134709 2018-10-21 03:02:48 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/295134709 Turner, H. (n.d.). Legal and ethical considerations for school counselors [PowerPoint presentation]. Retrieved from: http://www4.esc13.net/uploads/cssc/docs/Legal_and_Ethical_Considerations_for_Counselors.pdf fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/295135252 2018-10-21 03:11:18 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/295135252 Top Five Things I learned from Jo Hawk, Lead Counselor at Lake Creek High School fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/295136529 1. School counselors should stay informed about legislative proceedings in order to ensure continual legal compliance. Ms. Hawk suggested belonging to at least one professional organization in order to receive important email updates. For example, she recently received an email from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announcing the passage of Senate Bill 30 - The Community Safety Education Act. Beginning with incoming freshmen in the 2019-2020 school year, students will be required to participate in a new curriculum teaching high school students how to safely interact with police officers (Texas Education Agency, 2018). To ensure proper implementation of this legislation which affects each student's official transcript, Ms. Hawk has already commenced planning meetings with the school resource officers.
2. Bullying has become a prominent legal issue, requiring school counselors to know proper protocol to ensure student safety and avoid liability. Whenever Ms. Hawk hears of an incident involving bullying, she immediately follows district procedure by reporting the incident to the appropriate assistant principal for investigation.
3. School counselors often encounter unexpected and difficult ethical situations, which may not have a definitively correct solution. Regardless of the particular nature and scope of the issue, Ms. Hawk weighs legal statutes and ethical standards, erring on the side of caution, and trying to choose the course of action in the best interest of the student.
4. Ethically, a school counselor needs to recognize and overcome personal biases. The counselor should remove him/herself from the situation if he/she is unable to move beyond those biases. Even though Ms. Hawk is a conservative Christian with strong moral convictions, she looks past her personal beliefs to serve the best interest of each student. One issue she repeatedly experienced at a previous school involved sexual orientation and identity issues. Leaving her biases at the door, Ms. Hawk focused on successfully meeting the needs of each child who entered her office.
5. In working with students experiencing gender issues, it is important for counselors to know and comply with the current laws, communicate with the student and parents, and follow documented procedures and accommodations for each student. Ms. Hawk worked with a transgender student who wanted to be called by a different name during the graduation ceremony. To act in the best interest of the student, she familiarized herself with the most current gender protection legislation, and then communicated with the student and the parents to reach a solution acceptable to all involved parties. (J. Hawk, personal communication, October 22, 2018). 

Reference
Texas Education Agency. (2018). 

Implementation of Senate Bill (SB) 30, Community Safety Education Act. Retrieved from: https://tea.texas.gov/About_TEA/News_and_Multimedia/Correspondence/TAA_Letters/Implementation_of_Senate_Bill_(SB)_30,_Community_Safety_Education_Act/

]]> 2018-10-21 03:33:13 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/295136529 fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/295136909 Counselors must maintain confidentiality in order to ensure student trust. However, legally there are times when confidentiality must be breached. When abuse is suspected or implied, if the student or others are perceived to be in serious and foreseeable harm, or if the court subpoenas the counselor, the counselor must breach confidentiality to the appropriate authorities. In those instances, the counselor should share the least amount of information required to ensure student safety. Counselors should protect themselves and their students by clearly and regularly addressing these exceptions to confidentiality (Turner, n.d.).

School counselors do not receive the immunity that clergy and licensed professional counselors experience. In determining whether a breach is necessary, the counselor should consider legal and ethical standards as well as federal, state, and district policies. Texas school counselors must follow the Texas Educators' Code of Ethics as well as American School Counselor Association (ASCA) standards. Counselors need to think about what course of action is in the best interest of the student. Each circumstance will determine what information should be shared, as well as who needs to know the information (Turner, n.d.). Counselor-specific ethical and legal standards focused on the best interest of every student can cause difficulties when student, parent, and district rights compete in certain circumstances, or when there is no clear directive for counselors to follow. Examples of such situations include a teacher demanding to know specific information about a student, or a campus principal requesting a list of all the students with whom the counselor is working. (Dansby-Giles, 2014).

Counselors must maintain relationships of trust. However, due to legal consequences for neglecting to report certain information, counselors need to remain vigilant in knowing confidentiality rules and disclosing them to those with whom they work. Difficult decisions arise from complicated scenarios involving minors' and parents' rights as well as the necessity for administrators and other educators to know certain details. Some examples of such situations include a student confiding in a counselor about off-campus drug use, pregnancy, or suspicion of having a sexually transmitted disease. Counselors must be informed of their obligations and their rights, so they can best serve their students while also protecting themselves from liability (Turner, n.d.)

References
Dansby-Giles, D. (2014).  Informed consent, confidentiality, and duty to warn with school counselors. VISTAS, 38, 1-15. Retrieved from: https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/vistas/article_38.pdf?sfvrsn=70a07c2c_12
Turner, H. (n.d.). Legal and ethical considerations for school counselors [PowerPoint presentation]. Retrieved from: http://www4.esc13.net/uploads/cssc/docs/Legal_and_Ethical_Considerations_for_Counselors.pdf

]]> 2018-10-21 03:40:37 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/295136909 fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296235421 2018-10-24 00:15:33 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296235421 fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296235724 2018-10-24 00:17:31 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296235724 fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296236808 2018-10-24 00:24:19 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296236808 American School Counselor Association (ASCA) fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296237668 The ASCA website offers many ethical and legal resources specific to school counselors, within the headings of Legal and Ethical Articles, Ethical Tips for School Counselors, the  Position Statement on Confidentiality, ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors, and Legal and Ethical Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Counselors should adhere to ethical and legal boundaries in order to prevent liability, avoid negative consequences, and remain focused on the best interest and success of every student. For example, counselors should keep student information confidential unless the student or others face serious and foreseeable harm, is being abused, or is involved in a court case where the counselor is subpoenaed (American School Counselor Association, 2018).The ethical and legal situations counselors face are numerous, varying vastly in detail and scope. However, the general trends of confidentiality, parental rights, gender issue rights, dual relationships, biases, referrals, appropriateness of duties, and acceptance of gifts, appear throughout the website.

Focusing specifically on confidentiality, ASCA shares expert answers to scenarios that counselors experience, offering best practice guidance based on ethical standards and legal precedence. One example involves a counselor's responsibility to interpret whether an anorexic student in the middle of a volatile breakup with her boyfriend is in serious and foreseeable harm, which would allow for confidentiality breach in the best interest of the child (Stone, 2013). Concerning parental rights, the website offers counsel and guidelines designed to protect students and counselors from civil and legal battles involving custody issues. Counselors should refer to court orders before disclosing information to non-custodial parents, and should consult with other counselors, administration, and legal counsel when extra support is needed (American School Counselor Association, n.d.).

References
American School Counselor Association. (n.d.). Ethical and legal FAQ.  Retrieved from: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors-members/legal-ethical/legal-ethical-faq
American School Counselor Association. (2018) The school counselor and confidentiality. Retrieved from:  https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/PositionStatements/PS_Confidentiality.pdf
Stone, C. (2013, July 13). Serious and foreseeable harm or clear, imminent danger [Web log post]. Retrieved from: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/magazine/blogs/july-august-2011/serious-and-foreseeable-harm-or-clear,-imminent-da]]> 2018-10-24 00:29:04 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296237668 Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296238281 The ATPE website provides many resources, one of which is an explanation of the Educators' Code of Ethics found in the Texas Administrative Code. This code serves as a protection to all educators, including administrators and school counselors. The ATPE's guide addresses a wide variety of topics within the headings of Practices and Performance, Conduct Toward Colleagues, and Conduct Toward Students. The website discusses unethical practices such as falsifying records, accepting gifts, breaching confidentiality, inappropriate communication with students, and irresponsible use of social media.

Specifically referring to appropriate interaction with students as well as responsible social media communication, school counselors need to ensure proper relationships with students, remaining within secure boundaries designed to protect students from exploitation. Particularly important for the student/counselor relationship in which students can be vulnerable as they share personal feelings and information, counselors need to establish and maintain professional relationships. Due to their compassionate nature and desire to help students to the fullest extent possible, counselors need to exercise wisdom and caution to ensure that communication remains appropriate and limited to school hours. For example, counselors should avoid meeting with students in the evenings or early mornings, and limit communication to face-to-face meetings and emails sent through the official school email system. Counselors should also adhere to appropriate standards of social media use, both professionally and personally, being careful to avoid posting confidential, controversial or potentially defaming or confidential material (Educators' Code of Ethics, n.d.)

Reference
Educators' Code of Ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://www.atpe.org/en/Protection/Legal-Guide/Educators-Code-of-Ethics]]> 2018-10-24 00:32:32 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296238281 fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296253654 2018-10-24 01:46:44 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296253654 fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296260093 2018-10-24 02:21:31 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/296260093 Dansby-Giles, D. (2014). Informed consent, confidentiality, and duty to warn with school counselors. VISTAS, 38, 1-15. Retrieved from: https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/vistas/article_38.pdf?sfvrsn=70a07c2c_12 fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/297230811 2018-10-26 00:58:06 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/297230811 Stedil. (2018, September 2). Montgomery High School [Image file]. Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Montgomery_HS_Texas.jpg fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/297605862 2018-10-27 02:43:14 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/297605862 Montgomery ISD. (n.d.) Lake Creek High School [Image file]. Retrieved from: http://schools.misd.org/upload/page/1337/widgets/gallery/026194/LCHS.png fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/297606201 2018-10-27 02:48:09 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/297606201 Montgomery ISD. (n.d.). Jo Hawk [Image file]. Retrieved from: http://schools.misd.org/upload/page/1673/images/Teams/Hawk_Jo.jpg fosterhometx https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/297608223 2018-10-27 03:22:07 UTC https://padlet.com/fosterhometx/db8rgries46o/wish/297608223