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 as amended 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