Ethical Responsibilities

School counselors face ethical challenges every day. Whether you are new to the field or have been practicing for years, ethical challenges can still throw you for a loop. From confidentiality issues to records maintenance, from duty of care to sexual harassment issues, a school counselor's ethical questions can spring up from every corner. ASCA provides a number of resources and services to help members meet these legal and ethical challenges as comprehensively as possible.

The ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors are the basis of ASCA's ethical program. Review the changes in the 2022 standards vs. the 2016 standards.

ASCA also has Ethical Standards for School Counselor Education Faculty.

The association also publishes books and journal articles on legal and ethical issues, as well as addressing them in the members-only ASCA Scene. Each issue of ASCA School Counselor magazine contains an article written by the chair of ASCA's Ethics Committee about a legal or ethical issue.

Webinars
View a variety of webinars on legal and ethical issues in school counseling.

Frequently Asked Questions
Have a legal or ethical question or challenge? Take a look at our frequently asked questions. If you can't find an answer there, post your question on the ASCA Scene online community and get advice and suggestions from other school counselors or e-mail ethics@schoolcounselor.org.

State-by-State Statutes
Child-Abuse Reporting: Does your state require school counselors to report suspected child abuse?

Legal and Ethical Specialist
Interested in improving your knowledge of school counseling legal and ethical issues? Become a Legal and Ethical Specialist with this online training program.