Legal and Ethical Principles Toolkit by Kara Estes https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt en-us 2022-07-18 13:58:19 UTC 2025-05-04 08:24:58 UTC hello@padlet.com Slide 1: Profession Perspective- School Safety kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245436102 With the ever-increasing safety issue, lawmakers are now focusing on implementing school safety strategies. Threat assessment teams are put in place by every school district to make assessments on students that might show a need for either personal safety or a threat of security towards other students. School counselors are a significant part of these teams and other administrative personnel since we work closely with students and can evaluate student issues. Counselors are required to know and understand laws about school safety. I chose this topic because, as a mom of a young student starting school and with the recent school shooting in Texas, I want to help ease other parents' worries by providing accurate information on how schools are acting toward their school safety.]]> 2022-07-18 14:00:58 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245436102 Slide 2: Interview kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245436420 I interviewed Shelby Ellison, a school counselor at Boswell High School in Ft. Worth, Texas, and asked her why safety in school is so important.

1. Why is school safety important in your field of education, or how does it impact your field of education?
"School safety is important because we rely on school personnel to take our kids' lives into their hands daily. Kids go to school more often than they are out of school, so we must provide safe spaces to learn and achieve their goals. School safety is a growing topic with the recent shooting in Uvalde and causes parents to be fearful of sending their kids to school. We have to make it our priority to protect our students."
2. What are three best practices related to school safety?
"As the counselor, you should know what's going on in the school, build relationships, so students trust you, and be present in classrooms, hallways, and lunches. Being present helps you build rapport with students."
3. What emerging safety issue should educators watch to see how it plays out and impacts your work?
"I can't think of anything specific, but I believe it is vital to stay current on laws because they change all the time. More laws will be implemented due to the Uvalde situation that will affect everyone in education. Working closely with your principals and superintendents is important to ensure you're always following the law" (S. Ellison, personal communication, July 19, 2022).

]]> 2022-07-18 14:01:25 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245436420 Slide 3: Professional Association-American School Counselor Association kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245436919 The American School Counselor Association has provided a great article written by Carolyn Stone on the school counselor's role with threat assessments. Stone (2022) discusses that surveyed counselors do not believe that they should be the sole person on the team for threat assessments and that administrators and other school staff should be involved in the teams. The counselor's specific role is to build positive relationships with students to have students report suspicious activity when they hear about it. Counselors can do this by being present in classrooms and providing small group counseling sessions for students (Stone, 2022). ]]> 2022-07-18 14:01:54 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245436919 Slide 4: Article 1 kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245437541 Parents are not fully aware of the laws about threat assessments. The issues presented in the article are:
1. it is believed that schools use threat assessments and counseling instead of traditional discipline.
2. Lack of resources for adolescents dealing with coping mechanisms.
3. Teachers do not feel comfortable teaching "social-emotional lessons" instead of disciplining in the classroom, leaving them in unsafe environments.
4. Specific instances prove those threat assessments are valuable in the effort to prevent safety issues in school settings.
(Hixenbaugh, 2022).]]> 2022-07-18 14:02:53 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245437541 Slide 5: Article 2 kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245437656 In response to the shooting in Uvalde, the Texas Education Agency is implementing new procedures for schools on top of the threat assessment teams:
1. "Conduct a Summer Targeted Partial Safety Audit
2. Conduct an Exterior Door Safety Audit
3. Convene the LEA’s Safety and Security Committee to review: the multi-hazard emergency operations plan (EOP) and, as a component of the EOP, the LEA’s active threat plan
4. Ensure all campus staff (including substitutes) are trained on their specific LEA and campus safety procedures
5. Schedule all mandatory drills for the school year
6. Ensure all threat assessment team members are trained
7. Review and, if necessary, update access control procedures: For the new school year, access control procedures must include exterior door sweeps (ensuring doors are closed and locked) at every instructional facility at least once each week while instruction is being conducted" (Edwards, 2022). ]]> 2022-07-18 14:03:05 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245437656 Slide 6: Constitutional Law kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245437797 The 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution gives all people the right to public education (U.S. Const. amend. XIV). The school must provide a safe environment for all students within this right. ]]> 2022-07-18 14:03:18 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245437797 Slide 7: Judicial Law kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245437933 New Jersey vs. T.L.O 1985 was a Supreme Court Case ruling providing school officials the right to search a student's belongings. Because of this court decision, school districts can search any student with probable cause and add help to the threat assessment teams for searching a student's possessions if there is a threat present. ]]> 2022-07-18 14:03:31 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245437933 Slide 8: Administrative Law kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245438091 The Texas Administrative Code provides instruction for schools on how and when to perform emergency drills during school for:
1. active aggressors
2. fire evacuation
3. weather events

(19 TAC § 103.1209)]]> 2022-07-18 14:03:49 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245438091 Slide 9: Statutory Law kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245438180 Texas Education Code § 37.115 f. 1-3 states that school district's threat assessment teams will conduct threat assessments, including:
1. assessing and reporting students that make threats or show violent or harmful behavior to one's self or others
2. provide interventions when dealing with mental health
3. implement escalation procedures
4. provide information on recognizing violent threats to staff and students
5. support the school's emergency plans.]]> 2022-07-18 14:04:02 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245438180 Slide 10: Local Administrative Law kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245438733 The Meadow ISD Student Handbook from 2018-2019 states that students are expected to follow these safety guidelines:
1. "Avoid conduct that is likely to put the student or others at risk.
2. Follow the behavioral standards in this handbook and the Student Code of Conduct, as well as any additional rules for behavior and safety set by the principal, campus behavior coordinator, teachers, or bus drivers.
3. Remain alert to and promptly report to a teacher or the principal any safety hazards, such as intruders on campus or threats made by any person toward a student or staff member.
4. Know emergency evacuation routes and signals.
5. Follow immediately the instructions of teachers, bus drivers, and other district employees who are overseeing the welfare of students". (Meadow ISD Student Handbook, 2018-2019)]]> 2022-07-18 14:04:59 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245438733 Slide 11: Ethical Principle kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245438871 The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) provides counselors with ethical standards. One of the most significant roles a school counselor has in threat assessment teams, and school safety is recognizing self-harm or harm to others. ASCA Ethical Standard A.9 a. states counselors should "Inform parents/guardians and school administration when a student poses a serious and foreseeable risk of harm to self or others. This notification is to be done after careful deliberation and consultation with appropriate professionals, such as other school counselors, the school nurse, school psychologist, school social worker, school resource officer or child protective services. Even if the danger appears relatively remote, parents/guardians must be notified. The consequence of the risk of not giving parents/guardians a chance to intervene on behalf of their child is too great" (ASCA, 2022).
This role of the school counselor is a prominent piece of the threat assessment team and the school's overall safety.]]> 2022-07-18 14:05:17 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245438871 Slide 12: Personal Connection kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245439061 As a parent to an incoming pre-kindergarten student and a teacher/future counselor, my fears grew immensely on school safety after the incident in Uvalde. Legislature is being written to help prevent tragic events from happening. The implementation of threat assessment teams is not well-known and should be discussed more so that questions about school safety are cleared up. The laws that have been in place and new ones are important for school counselors and other personnel to know and understand so that we can make our school systems as safe as possible for our students and elevate the fears of parents and other teachers.]]> 2022-07-18 14:05:39 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245439061 Slide 13: Recommendations/Best Practices kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245439631 Best practices:
1. Know your local, state, and national laws concerning school safety.
2. Provide targeted training for all staff personnel.
3. Be actively engaged in the areas where students are present.
4. Build positive rapport with students.
5. Always stay in good communication with all stakeholders.
6. Provide parents with as much information on school safety rules/regulations as possible. ]]> 2022-07-18 14:06:36 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2245439631 References kestes32 https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2246994770 American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/f041cbd0-7004-47a5-ba01-3a5d657c6743/Ethical-Standards.pdf

Edwards, C. (2022). TEA requires new safety measures for schools. East Texas News. https://www.easttexasnews.com/index.php/tyler-county-news-2/2396-tea-requires-new-safety-measures-for-schools

Hixenbauh, M. (2022). After a Texas school shooting, conservatives blamed ‘woke’ programs once approved by republicans. NBC Universal. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-school-shooting-republicans-social-emotional-learning-rcna35540

Mandatory School Drills, 19. Tex. Admin. Code § 103.1211

Meadow ISD. (2018-2019). Student Handbook-Safety. p 66. https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/242386/Meadow_ISD_Student_Handbook_18-19.pdf

New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)

Stone, C. (2022). School counselor's role in threat assessments. American School Counselor Association. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Magazines/March-April-2022/School-Counselors-Role-in-Threat-Assessments

Threat Assessment and Safe and Supportive School Program and Team Tex. Educ. Code § 37.115 f. 1-3

U.S. Const. amend. XIV

]]> 2022-07-20 15:47:46 UTC https://padlet.com/kestes32/rl359qkqi12j53mt/wish/2246994770