The Ethical and Legal Graham ISD Counselor

Overview: The professional school counselor has an ethical responsibility to protect the safety, needs, confidentiality, and interests of students, parents, colleagues, self, and the profession.

Ethical Standards for School Counseling Programs

(American School Counselor Association, 2010)

By upholding personal and professional standards of moral duty and obligation as well as self- imposed regulations, school counselors achieve the following:

• Prevent internal disagreement

• Provide a basis for decision making

• Provide protection in case of litigation

General Guidelines for Legal and Ethical School Counseling

• Stay informed about all federal, state, and local guidelines that apply to counseling and working with students

• Follow the Graham ISD Comprehensive Developmental Guidance and Counseling Program, a clearly defined program that follows all state and district guidelines

• Consult about and refer legal questions to an administrator or supervisor

• Inform parents and guardians about the school counseling program in writing

• Correlate local goals and objectives of the program to national, state, and district school counseling standards and research

Ethical Guidelines

(Adapted from American School Counselor Association, 2010)

• Act in the best interests of students at all times

• Act in good faith and absence of malice

• Increase your awareness of your own personal values, attitudes, and beliefs

• Actively attempt to understand the diverse cultural backgrounds of students in the school

• Use procedures and techniques within the boundaries of personal training and competence

• Be able to fully explain why you do what you do

• Develop a theoretical rationale for counseling strategies and interventions

• Inform students at the beginning of counseling of limitations of confidentiality in counseling (informed consent)

• Inform or request written consent from parents when providing ongoing individual and group counseling to students (ongoing is defined as more than 3 formal sessions)

• Encourage family involvement, particularly in areas that may be controversial

• Follow written job descriptions to establish appropriate roles in the school setting

• Keep copies of the ASCA Ethical Standards on hand, review them periodically, and act accordingly (ASCA Ethical Standards)

• Consult with other colleagues and have a readily accessible support network of professionals

• Stay up-to-date with laws and current court rulings, particularly those pertaining to counseling with minors

• Consult with district counsel when necessary; in questionable cases, seek legal advice prior to initiating action

• Do not refer students or school employees who attend or work in the same school as the school counselor to a private practice in which the school counselor would benefit monetarily or in which the school counselor is receiving supervision for licensure as a licensed professional counselor

• Do not conduct any private work in the school office or use any school facilities, including telephones or computers, for private business; materials or information gained in the school should also not be used for private business