in 2004 (IDEA). The Supreme Court decision in Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools (2017) clarified that a student who has an individualized education program (IEP) under IDEA may have additional rights and protections under Americans with Disabilities Act as amended in 2008 that must be respected by the school.
The eighth edition of Ethics and Law for School Psychologists gives new attention to the ethical obligation to promote social justice. The problem-solving model that appeared in previous editions of the book was replaced by a new model developed by Diamond et al. (2021) that emphasizes socially just practice. Overall, the book has been updated to stress consideration of racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and other background factors important to understanding the context and/or the individuals involved in ethically challenging situations (e.g., APA, 2017a), and practitioners are now more explicitly urged to examine their own biases and how those biases might affect their perception of a situation and professional judgment. Chapter 8 now includes information about working with students who have undocumented family members and the educational rights of homeless schoolchildren. While all chapters were revised with an eye toward including relevant content on social justice, Chapter 12 (new) now provides an expanded focus on advocacy.
The previous edition of Ethics and Law for School Psychologists included new material on ethical-legal considerations associated with the use of digital technologies by school districts, school psychologists, and school children. Since that time, the Covid-19 pandemic along with the nationwide shortage of school psychologists have led to increased interest in distance assessment and intervention. As a result, multiple sections of the book were further updated to address ethical and legal concerns associated with distance delivery of school psychological services, including sections on distance assessment (Chapter 6), teleconsultation (Chapter 8), and telesupervision (Chapter 11).
Throughout the eighth edition, we incorporated citations to recent publications and legal decisions. However, we also continued to cite older works that provided the foundation for more recent scholarship in the area of ethics and law for school psychologists. As Koocher and Keith-Spiegel (2008) observed, ignoring important older publications on a topic is disrespectful of the efforts of early scholars. Furthermore, researchers and writers “who pass over earlier work may conclude that they discovered something fresh and innovative when in fact the same findings were published many years ago” (p. 524).
To assist the reader, a list of acronyms that are frequently used in this volume appears in Appendix E. An updated instructor’s manual with test questions and Microsoft PowerPoint slides are available for trainers who adopt the textbook. These supplements are available by contacting your John Wiley & Sons sales representative (visit http://www.wiley.com).
A number of the changes made in the eighth edition were suggested by readers. We welcome your suggestions for improving future editions of Ethics and Law for School Psychologists. Please contact Susan Jacob, Professor Emeritus, Central Michigan University. E-mail: [email protected].
DISCLAIMERS
The portions of this book that address legal issues were written to provide the reader with a framework for understanding federal and state law pertinent to the delivery of school psychological services and a foundation for future learning in the area of legal issues. We hope that the material on legal issues will alert practitioners to professional practices that law deems appropriate or inappropriate (Sales et al., 2005); prompt them to seek consultation with knowledgeable supervisors when legal questions arise; and encourage thoughtful decisions that are respectful of student rights and decisions that, under public scrutiny, will foster trust in school psychologists. This book is not a legal text, and nothing in the book should be construed as legal advice. The court cases and judicial opinions summarized here were selected to provide a historical background for understanding legal issues in the field of school psychology, to illustrate terms and principles, to provide insight into contemporary interpretations of law pertinent to practice, or to serve as a cautionary tale regarding missteps to avoid in the delivery of services. Unlike a legal text, we do not provide a comprehensive set of citations to authoritative judicial decisions when legal issues are discussed in the book.
In addition, our interpretations of ethical codes and standards should not be viewed as reflecting the official opinion of any specific professional association.
NEW AUTHORS
When Susan Jacob and Tim Hartshorne published the first edition of Ethics and Law for School Psychologists in 1991, interest in ethical and legal issues associated with the field of school psychology was growing. However, while attorneys and others published on special education law, there were not many school psychologists publishing in the area of ethics. Today, it is exciting to see new scholars writing about ethics in school psychology, and especially social justice. With this edition, we begin a shift toward including some of those new voices as book and chapter authors. Elena Diamond, Associate Professor and Director of the School Psychology Program at Lewis & Clark College, joins us as a fourth author of the textbook. Dana E. Boccio, Associate Professor of Psychology at Adelphi University, provides her expertise in the new Chapter 12 on advocacy. In addition, McKinzie Duesenberg, doctoral student at the University of Missouri, is an author of Chapter 10 on ethical and legal issues associated with school-based research. It is hoped that this sets the stage for a new cohort of writers who, along with Dawn M. Decker and Elizabeth T. Lugg, can take lead roles in future revisions of this textbook. Our goal is to continue to produce a textbook that has a progression from basic concepts to more specific and complex content across chapters. We hope that this and future editions not only continue to have connectivity across chapters, but also emphasize the fresh and new ideas of younger scholars.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Throughout the text, we have included a number of case incidents to illustrate specific principles. Some of the incidents are from case law, some were suggested by practitioners in the field, and others are fictitious. To make it easier for the reader to follow who’s who in the vignettes, we have used the same six school psychologists throughout the book:
MARIA DELGADO serves as a member of a school psychological services team in a medium-size city. She is particularly interested in school-based consultative services.
CARRIE JOHNSON provides school psychological services in a rural area. She faces the special challenges of coping with professional isolation and works in a community where resources are limited.
DAVID KIM is, at the beginning of the book, a doctoral intern in a suburban school district.
JAMES LEWIS, a school psychologist in a large metropolitan district, is a strong advocate of school efforts to prevent mental health problems.
PEARL MEADOWS is a school psychologist in a small university town. She works with a diverse student population, including students from farm families who live on the district’s outskirts, Native American students from the neighboring Indian reservation, and children from many different cultures whose parents are part of the university community. Pearl also provides on-site supervision to school psychology interns.
WANDA ROSE provides services at the preschool and elementary levels
