Web-based resources for legal and ethical issues in school counseling

Professional School Counseling, Oct, 2003 by Lynne Guillot-Miller, Patricia W. Partin

Professional Sponsored Sites

American School Counselor Association http://www.schoolcounselor.org/

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) provides both legal and ethical information that is relevant for school counselors.

A link titled "About ASCA" located at http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.cfm?L1=1 provides school counselors with access to Ethical Standards for School Counselors at http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.cfm?L1=1&L2=15 (ASCA, 2002).

The ASCA site includes a number of Position Statements at http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.cfm?L1=1&L2=8 which contain valuable guidelines for ethical practice in a variety of situations. There is also a search engine on the site that leads users to legal and ethical topics.

The ASCA School Counselor Magazine is available online to ASCA members. Members can access this page from a link on the home page rifled "Resources and Publications" or it is available at http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.cfm? L1=7&L2=1&L3=0&L4=0&PubID=9. There are current as well as archival issues of the magazine available online. In terms of ethics, the 2002 edition rifled Get the Word Out includes an article rifled "Ethics" by the current ASCA Ethics Committee Chairperson, Dr. Gloria Dansby-Giles. The article contains steps and tips that can guide school counselors through ethical decision making. Additionally, legal and ethical columns are available in the online magazine issues.

The National Professional Group http://www.asca-ins.com

The National Professional Group is the insurance company offering professional liability insurance to ASCA members. This company maintains a Web page rifled "Understanding the Legal Process" at http://www.asca-ins.com/pl/legalProcess.html. This site provides advice that can be helpful if school counselors are ever confronted with a complaint or subpoena or if they are required to participate in a deposition.

American Counseling Association http://www.counseling.org/

The American Counseling Association (ACA) furnishes the ACA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice online at http://www.counseling.org/resources/ethics.htm#ce.

In addition, Ethical Standards for Internet Online Counseling are available at this site. These guidelines may be useful if school counselors are considering providing online counseling for students or if they receive e-mail messages from students regarding problems or concerns of a confidential nature. The ACA site also includes "A Practitioner's Guide to Ethical Decision Making" at http://www.counseling.org/resources/prac_guide.htm.> The ACA Web site provides access to online courses related to law and ethics at http://www.counseling.org/resources/online.htm including: "Legal and Ethical Issues for Working With Minors in Schools," "Legal Aspects of Counseling," and "Ethical Decision-Making in Counseling Relationships." This site also provides links to a multitude of state branch and division Web sites that provide both ethical and legal information that may be more regional and specific in nature. The North Carolina School Counselor Association, for example, has a list of ethical Internet resources at http://www.nccounseling.org/NCSCA/ethicsresources.htm (Hamilton, 2002). A search engine on the ACA site allows searches for additional legal and ethical topics.