This step provides space to consider how to engage in a socially just practice, as is the ethical duty of a school psychologist (NASP Standard I.3.2).Questions to guide this step: What cultural variables are present? What contextual variables are present? What intersectionality is present? The term intersectionalities refers to a paradigm that addresses the multidimensions of identity (e.g., ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, age) and how they intersect with one another and relate to inequality and oppression (Ingraham et al., 2019; also APA, 2017a). What systemic influences are present? How might power, systemic racism, or implicit biases be influencing the situation? Is this situation part of a larger systemic pattern (e.g., within the school, community, neighborhood, etc.)? How do individual social identities function in contextualized systems of inequality? Have any voices or perspectives been left out of the conversation? What biases have not been addressed?Step 3. Consider Ethical, Legal, and Policy Guidelines. Identify ethical, legal, and policy guidelines relevant to the problem or dilemma. Consider the guidelines collectively and identify any conflicts. Consult as applicable (e.g., direct supervisor, special education director, other school psychologists, school district legal counsel).Questions to guide this step: What laws are relevant to this situation? What ethical standards are relevant to this situation? What district policies are relevant to this situation? Is there other relevant guidance to consider (e.g., position statements from professional organizations, technical assistance papers, etc.)? Who do the policies serve? What are the historical foundations of the policies?Step 4. Identify the Rights and Responsibilities of all Parties. Identify all individuals or groups involved in the situation, both directly and indirectly, and articulate their rights and responsibilities. Keep in mind the cultural and contextual factors from step two and the legal, ethical, and policy guidelines from step three.Questions to guide this step: Who is directly involved and/or impacted by this situation? Who is indirectly involved and/or impacted by this situation? What are their rights? What are their responsibilities?Step 5. Determine Courses of Action and Consequences. Identify several possible courses of action to respond to the problem or dilemma and consider the possible outcomes or consequences for each. Consider the welfare of those affected by the various outcomes. Keep in mind the cultural and contextual factors identified in step two. Consult as applicable (e.g., supervisor, special education director, school district legal counsel, district equity and inclusion director, cultural brokers, and/or other school psychologists).Questions to guide this step: What are the ethical, legal, and policy ramifications associated with each option? How do the proposed actions effect the welfare of those impacted by the situation? Do the proposed actions and anticipated consequences align with a socially just, anti-discriminatory, and anti-racist practice?Step 6. Establish a Plan. Identify a decision, make a plan to enact the decision, and monitor the outcome. Ensure that the final decision aligns with legal, ethical, and policy guidelines and is consistent with a socially just, anti-discriminatory, and anti-racist practice, taking into consideration cultural and contextual factors of those involved and impacted by the situation. Consult as applicable (e.g., supervisor, special education director, school district legal counsel, district equity and inclusion director, cultural brokers, and/or other school psychologists).Questions to guide this step: Does the decision align with legal, ethical, and policy guidelines? Does the decision align with a socially just, anti-discriminatory, and anti-racist practice? What is the plan to monitor the outcome of the decision? Who will be responsible for following up, and what is the proposed timeline? How will you know when the problem or dilemma has been resolved?Note: The content in this table is adapted from Diamond et al. (2021). National Association of School Psychologists. Reprinted with permission of the publisher. www.nasponline.org .
Note that the model described here may be applied in whole or in part, depending on the degree of complexity of the specific situation and the type of ethical issues involved. Also, when using a decision-making model, it is not necessary to follow the steps in sequence. For example, a practitioner might begin by consulting with a colleague to identify the specific legal, ethical, and policy guidelines pertinent to a situation (step 3) or may continue to circle back to important cultural and contextual factors identified in step 2 while working through the remaining steps of the model. Further, a school psychologist might stop at step 1 after discovering that what appeared to be an ethics violation by a colleague was simply a misunderstanding.
When faced with a difficult dilemma, the use of a decision-making model is now widely considered be “best practice.” As Cottone (2012) noted, “the profession has advanced to the degree that a psychologist who makes a crucial ethical decision without the use of a model would appear naive, uneducated, or potentially incompetent” (p. 117). NASP’s code of ethics requires practitioners to use a systematic procedure to resolve difficult situations (Standard IV.3.1). Additional research is needed, however, to assess the impact of various decision models on the quality of ethical choices made by psychologists (Boccio, 2020; Cottone, 2012).
Dailor and Jacob (2011) asked school psychology survey participants to identify the types of problem-solving strategies they used when handling difficult situations in the previous year. Less than one-quarter of respondents reported using a systematic decision-making model. Respondents who had received multilevel university training (coursework in ethics, discussion of ethical issues in multiple courses, and supervised discussion of ethical issues in practica and internships) were more likely to report use of a systematic decision-making model than those who had not received multilevel ethics preparation. However, two-thirds of survey participants did report consulting with colleagues when faced with a challenging situation. Gottlieb (2006) identified best practices in providing consultation to colleagues who are facing a difficult ethical situation.
UNETHICAL CONDUCT
As noted previously, one of the functions of professional associations is to develop and promote standards to enhance the quality of work by its members (Chalk et al., 1980). By encouraging appropriate professional conduct, associations such as the APA and the NASP strive to ensure that each person served will receive the highest quality of service. By so doing, the associations build and maintain public trust in psychology and psychologists. Failure to do so is likely to result in increased external regulation of the profession.
Appropriate professional conduct is defined through the development and frequent revision of codes of ethics and professional standards. However,
the presence of a set of ethical principles or rules of conduct is only part, albeit an important one, of the machinery needed to effect self-regulation. The impact of a profession’s ethical principles or rules on its members’ behavior may be negligible … without appropriate support activities to encourage proper professional conduct, or the means to detect and investigate possible violations, and to impose sanctions on violators. (Chalk et al., 1980, p. 2)
The APA and the NASP support a range of activities designed to educate and sensitize practitioners to the parameters of appropriate professional conduct. Both include ethics coursework as a required component in their standards for graduate preparation, and each organization disseminates information on professional conduct on their websites, through publications, and by supporting presentations and symposia. In addition, continued professional training in the area of ethics is required for renewal of the Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) credential, and many states require continuing education credits in ethics for renewal of licensure (see Rossen et al., 2019).
The APA and the NASP also each support a standing ethics committee. Ethics committees are made up of volunteer members of the professional association. Ethics committees respond to informal inquiries about ethical issues, investigate complaints about possible ethics code violations by association members, and attempt to educate and/or impose sanctions on violators.
Ethics Committees and Sanctions
The APA (2018) publishes an extensive set of
