Ethics and Law for School Psychologists. Susan Jacob

Preface

      There are a number of excellent texts, journal articles, and book chapters on ethics in psychology, legal issues in school psychology, and special education law. However, in the late 1980s, the authors of the first edition of this book recognized a need for a single sourcebook on ethics and law specifically written to meet the unique needs of the psychologist in the school setting. Consequently, Ethics and Law for School Psychologists was written to provide up-to-date information on ethical principles and standards and law pertinent to the delivery of school psychological services. Our goals for this eighth edition of the book remain unchanged. We hope that the book will continue to be useful as a basic textbook or supplementary text for school psychology students in training and as a resource for practitioners. In addition, we hope it will also be a valuable resource for scholars interested in ethical and legal issues in the field of school psychology.

      As stated in the preface to the first edition, one goal in writing the book was to bring together various ethical and legal guidelines pertinent to the delivery of school psychological services. We also introduce an ethical-legal decision-making model that supports socially just practice (Diamond et al., 2021). We concur with the suggestion that the educated practitioner is the best safeguard against ethical-legal problems (Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 2008). School psychologists with a broad knowledge base of ethics and law are likely to anticipate and prevent problems. Use of a decision-making model allows the practitioner to make informed, well-reasoned choices in resolving problems when they do occur (Cottone, 2012; Eberlein, 1987; Tymchuk, 1986).

      WHAT’S IN THE BOOK

Chapter 1 provides an introduction to ethical codes; the DECIDE ethical-legal decision-making model (Diamond et al., 2021); and the four broad ethical principles of respect for the dignity and rights of all persons, professional competence and responsibility, honesty and integrity in professional relationships, and responsibility to schools, families, communities, the profession, and society. We also describe ethics committees and sanctions for unethical conduct. Chapter 2 provides an introduction to the legal underpinnings of school-based practice and to public school law that protects the rights of students and their parents. We also address certification and licensure of school psychologists—mechanisms that help to ensure that psychologists meet specified qualifications before they are granted a legal sanction to practice. The chapter closes with a brief discussion of tort liability of schools and practitioners. In Chapter 3, we discuss privacy, informed consent, confidentiality, privileged communication, and record keeping—ethical-legal concerns that cut across all of the school psychologist’s many roles.

      The remaining chapters focus on ethical-legal issues associated with specific roles. These chapters build on foundational knowledge of ethics and law presented in the first three chapters. Chapters 4 and 5 address the delivery of services to students with disabilities. Psychoeducational assessment within the context of a school psychologist–client relationship is discussed in Chapter 6. Chapter 7 addresses academic and behavioral interventions within a multitiered system of service delivery and therapeutic interventions such as counseling. Chapters 8 and 9 focus on indirect services. We discuss ethical-legal issues associated with consultative services to teachers and parents in Chapter 8 and systems-level consultation in Chapter 9. A number of special consultation topics are covered in Chapter 9, including the ethical-legal concerns associated with large-scale assessment programs (high-stakes testing, screening to identify students at risk for harm to self or others); instructional policies and practices (grade retention, instructional grouping, programs for English learners and gifted and talented students); school discipline; and discrimination, harassment, and bullying. In Chapter 10, ethical-legal issues associated with research are discussed, and Chapter 11 provides a brief overview of issues associated with school-based supervision of school psychologists in training. And, finally, in Chapter 12, we discuss advocacy.

      WHAT’S NOT IN THE BOOK

      We have chosen to focus on ethical-legal issues of interest to current and future school-based practitioners. Consistent with this focus, we did not include a discussion of issues associated with private practice. Interested readers are encouraged to consult C. B. Fisher (2017) and Knapp et al. (2017). We also did not address the legal rights of psychologists as employees in the public schools. However, we did address situations in which the freedoms of ordinary citizens must be balanced with the school psychologist’s professional roles and responsibilities.

      EIGHTH EDITION REVISIONS

There have been a number of changes in ethical guidelines and law since we completed work on the seventh edition of this text. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) revised its professional standards, including the Principles for Professional Ethics, in 2020, and the American Psychological Association revised its ethics code, Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, in 2016 ([APA], 2017b). In the past several years, court rulings have provided new legal guidance on several issues of importance to school psychologists. For example, the US Supreme Court decision in Endrew v. Douglas County School District (2017) clarified interpretation of the meaning of a free and appropriate education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Скачать книгу