An ethical and legal perspective on the role of school counselors in preventing violence in schools - Special issue: legal and ethical issues in school counseling

Professional School Counseling, Oct, 2002 by Mary A. Hermann, Abbe Finn

When students are identified as at risk for violence, there should be protocols for obtaining help for students. Referrals to resources within the school and community should be provided. The school's resources should include staff prepared to provide ongoing individual counseling and group intervention (Gottfredson, Gottfredson, & Skroban, 1998) and could include violence prevention activities.

Loeber, Farrington, Rumsey, and Allen-Hagen (1998) found that modifying the school climate is one of the most effective strategies for preventing school violence. School counselors can help establish an environment in which students know that school personnel care about their well-being. Students also need to know that they will be held accountable for their actions. Without trust and accountability, students do not feel safe in reporting their concerns about their classmates (James & Gilliland, 2001). In this more compassionate school environment, all students are equally valued and differences are acknowledged and respected. Furthermore, all forms of violence, including hazing and bullying, are not tolerated.

School counselors can help create or update school policies related to violence prevention, including specific steps to ensure student safety. School personnel must be apprized of the policies and the importance of following the policies. Courts have found that school personnel were negligent when they failed to follow a policy implemented to keep students safe and a student was injured as a result of the failure to follow the policy (Garcia v. City of New York, 1996). Thus, once a school policy for violence prevention has been created, it is imperative that the policy be followed.

Recommendations for School Counselors

In the context of school violence, school counselors have an ethical and legal duty to prevent clear and imminent danger to others. Though courts have upheld taking every threat of violence in school settings seriously, to date courts have refused to hold school counselors legally accountable for school violence. Courts have found that even blatant warning signs were not enough to predict impending violence. Yet, school counselors are still legally vulnerable. Courts have consistently found that school officials have a duty to exercise reasonable care in order to prevent potential school violence. Implementing violence prevention programming, assessing students' risk for violence, and providing appropriate interventions are reasonable activities related to addressing school violence.

The practice of school counselors is guided by the Ethical Standards for School Counselors (ASCA, 1998) and the Code of Ethics (ACA, 1995). In addition, the activities of school counselors are informed by the court cases cited in this article. The following recommendations are offered to school counselors to assist them in addressing the difficult issue of school violence in a manner that is ethically sound and legally appropriate:

1. Keep up-to-date on effective violence prevention activities, risk assessment techniques, and interventions when the potential for violence exists.