Ethical codes, professional and legal standards

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9/15/03
Ethical codes and professional standards.

Chapter 1
APA and NASP

Sources of quality and control in school psychology
Law, credentialing (give us the right to practice- two types: certification and licensure), accreditation of training programs.

Definitions:

Ethics: Principals that govern how people behave as professionals.
Ethical Codes: the written rules
Ethical Conduct: how you act.

Four broad ethical principals:
1- Respect for the dignity of persons: in terms of self-determination and autonomy. Here, it is often the rights of a child, via the parents. This also deals with privacy and confidentiality. This also deals with fairness and non-discrimination.
2- Responsible Caring: Only practice in areas you have training and competence. You need to accept responsibility for your actions and the consequences of your actions. Maximize benefit and do no harm.
3- Integrity in professional relationships: Keep your word. Don’t gossip. Avoid conflict of interest. Don’t exploit clients.
4- Responsibility to community and society:

On way to insure that school psychologists as a field are sticking to these principles is peer monitoring. Be aware of what you and others are doing.
If you notice someone being unethical, first try to solve it by working with them privately. If that doesn’t work, then report to an ethics board.

How do you know if an act or decision is ethical.
Ask: Is it principled? Is it based on generally accepted ethical principles?
Ask: Is the decision that the psychologist made universal? Would that same psychologist make the same decision with another person?
Ask: Is the outcome reasonable? Is it based on ethical principles.

Eight step problem solving model
1- What are the parameters of the situation?
2- What are the ethical issues involved?
3- What do the guidelines say?
4- What are the rights of all the parties involved?
5- What are the alternative decisions possible for each issue?
6- Analyze the risk and benefits of the possible decisions
7- Present evidence for what you think will happen.
8- Make your decision.

Crisis decision making:
When there is an ethical problem, you don’t always have time to think things through. So, be caught up with changes in the law, have a file of referrals ready, have a crisis intervention plan – BEFORE the crisis, etc. Don’t handle situations outside your expertise – make a referral.

The most common ethical problems reported to NASP about school psychologists.
1- Administrative pressure to act unethically (often money related)-22%
2- Assessment procedures (no real choice in what you administer, there is a set of procedures some districts demand)-14%
3- Confidentiality.
4- Unsound educational practices.
5- Job competence. Job performance.
6- Parent conflicts (parent wants something specific done, irregardless of what is right) (denying access to parents for school records) (informed consent)
7- Questionable use of intervention
8- Concerns arising from academic settings, supervision. Demands to stay within certain numbers
9- Running a private practice on the side and referring yourself
10- Plagiarism, faking research.
11- Practicing without license or certification.

Chapter 2

The US Constitution governs everything we do. The statutes enacted by the congress, state, local govern, and boards of education are subject to the Constitution. In the Constitution, there is no fundamental right for everyone to have an education. It does say that everyone has the right to an equal educational opportunity. It governs students’ rights in the school setting, and it governs church-state-school relationships.

The amendments: in the 10th adm. Sate governments were given the duty to educate. State governments were also given the power to tax citizens of the state to finance education, and state governments were given the power to compel student attendance. Most states have further delegated these responsibilities to boards of education. (thus boards of edu. are arms of the federal gov.)
The rights of children to an education is a property right.

In the 14th amendment, courts can not and do not intervene in the resolution of conflicts in schools which do not have to do with constitutional values.

Two clauses involved in many court cases:

Equal protection clause: PRAXIS!! Brown verses the Board of Education. Determined that the assignment of African-American children to separate and inferior schools is a denial of equal protection under the 14th amendment.

Pennsylvania Association of Retarded Children vs. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Mills vs. the Board of Education. Ruled that exclusion of children with handicaps is a denial of equal protection under the 14th amendment.

Due process clause:

Substantive due process: A state can not pass a law that deprives citizens of life, liberty, or property – education is a property right. So school rules restricting student rights must be related to the school’s purpose.

Procedural due process: the state can’t take away life, liberty or property without some sort of procedural fairness.

Goss vs. Lopez – schools can’t expend or expel children from school without impartial due process procedures. – not more than ten days if they have a special education label without going through the proper procedures. The proper procedures have been a manifestation determination hearing procedure. If it is found that the behaviour is not related to the disability, then the student is disciplined just like any other. But if it is related to a disability, then an intervention plan is developed, not punishment.

1st and 4th amendment: Students have the freedom of speech rights as long as it doesn’t interrupt the functioning of the school (Ex. Obscene language, ten commandments, dressing, gang signals.) Privacy rights: courts have not recognized that students have privacy in schools at the same levels that adults have privacy. (Ex. Search and seizure under reasonable suspicion vs. probable cause in adults. Freedom of religion: congress and the states are prohibited from passing laws respecting an establishment of religion.
Freedom of religion:
However, it has been determined that public funds can be used for purchasing of textbooks, psychological diagnostic services, speech, hearing, etc.
School policies or classroom procedures: At one time, funds were not to be used for instruction in parochial schools, but is no longer the case.

Statutes and Regulations.

Congress is forbidden from creating a nationalized school system. But congress can offer money to states to comply with federal mandates. (instead of using the stick, they use the carrot)

Anti-discrimination legislation:
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 – says that federal funds will be discontinued if schools discriminate based on handicapped conditions.
ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 – most important federal law insuring civil rights of all individuals with disabilities. Guarantees equal access to ALL services – public access, etc. Administered by OCR (Office of Civil Rights)

Civil Rights Act of 1871: any person whose constitutional rights have been violated can sue the official who violated or the agency he works for.

Federal Education Legislation:
Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 (ESEA): Revised to be called, Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994: Changed to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 – Provides financial assistance for schools with high concentrations of children from disadvantaged homes. The purpose is to close the achievement gap between schools with disadvantaged students and those with fewer such students. Requires by 2005-06, statewide reading and math tests each year in grades 3-8. Also says all students must obtain proficiency within twelve years of schooling and that school choice must be made available to students in poorly performing schools.

Goals 2000 - Educate America Act (1994) – provides a framework for national reform, which developed 8 national goals and the funds were made available to support school improvement consistent with those goals.
States can choose not to participate if they don’t want the funds.

School to Work Opportunity Act of 1994 – provides monies to help better prepare students for employment or post-secondary education.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - prior to 1990, called “Education of the Handicapped act (EHA)” – Part B: allocates funds to states that provide FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education) to all children with disabilities. Part C: Funds states that offer early intervention programs for infants and toddlers. Addresses infants or toddlers with known or suspected disabilities.

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) – Says that federal funds will be removed from schools if they don’t adhere to the record keeping procedures outlined in the law. – these procedures insure confidentiality and parent access of records.

The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (1978) (The Hatch Amendment) (Revised to be the Goals 2000) – says funding will be withheld if schools don’t obtain written parental consent before a student can be required to submit to a survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals certain types of personal information.

Case Law (Common Law) – develops over time to fill in for the written law (like a ball of soap pieces):
Generally, the Federal Court System rules on civil and criminal cases involving Federal Constitution or Statutory Law – or cases that involve parties from two states.
Generally, the State Court System rules on civil and criminal cases involving State Constitution or Statutory Law, but also may rule on cases involving the Federal Constitution and Law.

Regulation:
There are two major areas of quality control for the field of School Psychology
Accreditation (the procedure for evaluating the training preparation) and credentialing (the procedure for granting titles to individuals following the completing of their training).

The controversy between NASP and APA:
NASP Believes that school psychs should be able to practice with a minimal training at the specialist level (Texas does not agree) – NASP has about 20,000 members and represents a majority of the field.
APA Believes that a doctoral level of training should be required. Division 16 in APA is the school psychology division. They have about 2,000 members.

It used to be certification was granted by the board of education, and licensure was by the board of psychology – not education is granting licensure (what we will get).

Ethical Sanctions and Liability – both APA and NASP support attempts to resolve ethical issues and unlawful conduct issues informally before filing a complaint.
For unlawful conduct, you may have civil liability. You can be sued for acting wrongly or for failing to act when there was a recognized duty to do so.

There are two categories of Torts (A legal obligation to protect others in society):
Constitutional Torts and Common Torts.
In Constitutional Torts, constitutional rights are violated, but school personnel are generally not held liable as long as they are acting clearly within the scope of their authority for the benefit of those they serve.
In Common Torts, There are two general areas or issues: Negligence (unintentionally doing something which results in damage or loss You can be found responsible if the courts find that you should have anticipated the harm.) and malpractice (there is harm to the client as a result of departure from acceptable standards). The plaintiff must prove four things:
1- a professional relationship existed
2- the standard of care was breached
3- the client suffered harm or injury
4- the mistake was the proximate cause of the client’s injury.

Educational Malpractice: the courts have ruled on two types of educational malpractice: instructional malpractice -not usually successful - a few cases have gone in favor of those who filed the suits, but the courts felt that the monetary awards would cause damage to the schools.
Assessment placement malpractice – occurs when a student is inappropriately placed due to faulty assessment. These suits are generally successful in awarding monetary damages or compensatory education.

Paul D Coverdell Teacher Protection Act of 2001: Included in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: Provides a limitation on liability for school personnel when they take reasonable action to maintain order, discipline, and appropriate educational environment.

Filed under: EDC 572 Role & Function of the School Psychologist
Copyright: September, 2003 - David Profitt