Parental Rights and Information Sharing
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Author(s): Richard McCoy
March 1, 2023
Permission for Small Groups
In my training, I’ve been told we should always get permission from parents/guardians before adding their child to a small group. Is this best practice or something we are legally bound to do?
With our ever-increasing time constraints, small-group counseling can be a valuable school counseling tool. There are some ethical considerations to keep in mind when working with small groups, and parent/guardian permission is one of them.
The ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors makes it clear that it’s best practice to inform parents/guardians of any small-group work that school counselors wish to engage in with their students. Section A.7. Group Work states, “School counselors (will) inform parents/guardians of student participation in and the purpose of the small group.” In “School Counseling Principles: Ethics and Law,” author Carolyn Stone, Ed.D., writes, “Group workers obtain the appropriate consent/assent for work with minors and other dependent group members.”
Best practice, then, includes both obtaining the student’s agreement to join the small group as well as informing and obtaining consent from the parent/guardian. Without this consent, best practice dictates the student cannot join the small group.
The second point to consider is the legality of needing permission for small-group work. Are we “legally bound” to get permission for a student to join a small group? Do we have legal precedence for guidance in this manner?
There has been recent interest in states introducing and, in some cases passing, parental permission laws pertaining to access to school counseling services. School counselors should inquire with their district office or school administrator to ensure they are following established district policies or state laws. And remember, the ASCA Ethical Standards remind us that parents/guardians have the right to be the guiding voice in their children’s lives.
Keeping Notes on Students
I hear conflicting advice about whether to keep notes on my students. Some say never keep them, and some say keep them. Should I keep notes on my students and, if so, how much information is too much?
Accountability is a word that continues to build steam in today’s world. Are we doing enough for students? Are we meeting students’ social/emotional needs? And, is there a way to show we are meeting these needs on an individual basis? To this end, the topic of keeping student notes is more important than ever.
Student notes can be a concern, however. On the one hand, we want a memory aid to help us recall specific things students tell us in case we need the information in the future. On the other hand, we don’t want our written words to be subpoenaed and possibly taken out of context in a court of law. Some school counselors insist on recording every interaction they have. Others say they won’t even write student initials on a calendar they keep in their bottom drawer. What, then, is an appropriate way to keep notes on students, and is there a reason why we should never keep these notes?
To begin, we should consider what the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) mandates about the keeping of notes by educators. FERPA’s express purpose is giving parents/guardians access to the information contained in student education records to protect their children’s educational interests. However, not every written word is considered an educational record or open for access and disclosure.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, records that are (1) kept in the sole possession of the maker of the records, (2) are used only as a personal memory aid and (3) are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the records are considered exempt from FERPA. These are known as sole-possession records. This gives us the legal foundation to build upon. Our next consideration is the nature of the records we’re keeping and if they are sole-possession records or educational records.
Sole-possession records are normally the barest of information that will help jog the school counselor’s memory but don’t contain great detail. Typically, student notes contain the student’s name, the date, and minimal details to jog our memory. The level of specificity of these notes is what can determine the difference between sole-possession records and educational records. Keep in mind that proving your notes are sole-possession can be difficult. It’s important to realize your notes could be requested by parents or subpoenaed by a court of law.
As we are not clinical therapists, we don’t have time nor the need to keep copious notes on our students. However, there are occasions when students come to us for help with such issues as suicidal ideation or to report child abuse or self-harm, and it is vitally important to keep professional notes with key details listed in these instances. In this case, school counselors need to record information with the mindset that these notes may be subpoenaed in most states and, again, could be requested by parents.
Here are some examples as to what is a memory aid/sole possession and what would be considered educational records:
Memory aids:
Sometimes my principal or teachers want me to tell them what’s going on with a particular student. Is there ever a time when I should share something I found out from a student?
The bond between the school counselor and students is one based on trust that the school counselor won’t share what students may divulge to the school counselor. Overall, we can keep that confidence, within reason. If a student’s safety is in question, however, school counselors can share information with administrators or fellow educators. School counselors must ensure that school personnel understand the information is sensitive and that it must be kept confidential to preserve the student’s dignity and rights, as well as your relationship with the student.
Following are three groups of educators with whom you may need to share student information. As in all things, check with your state school counselor association’s ethics committee if you are unsure about the standards for your state.
Administration: Administrators should be made aware of any threats to self or to others. Reports made to human services or calls to the police should be made known to the administration team as well.
School counseling team: Other school counselors, psychologists or social workers will benefit from knowing about a student’s situation to make future consultation more beneficial and to keep additional eyes on the student in question in case you are out of the building when the student needs assistance.
Teaching staff: Sharing general information when you are concerned about a student, such as a student who has been struggling with a loss or depression, can be helpful so teachers can notify you of changing behavior in class or with peers. Typically, just asking teachers to notify you if they see any behaviors from the student that are different from the student’s normal behavior is enough.
There will always be well-meaning educators who send students to see you and then want to follow up with how the student is doing after your counseling session. Unless it’s a safety issue, it’s important to maintain the student’s privacy. You can gently remind the educators in question that you can’t break student confidentiality but that you appreciate the concern. You can also remind them to keep their eyes open for any future signs that bring them concern and let you know at once if they see anything that seems off from the student’s normal pattern of behavior.
Educating Constituencies
Given some of the attacks on social/emotional learning (SEL) and school counseling services under the guise of parental rights, what are some best practices for transparency when it comes to letting people know about my program so parents can learn about what school counseling is?
While we as school counselors understand the role SEL and school counseling services play in forming a well-rounded student, it’s important to realize not everyone understands or recognizes what we do as school counselors. Failing to combat misinformation about SEL and the services we offer as school counselors creates an opportunity for some colleagues, families and others to become suspicious of our role. What can we do, then, to ensure the community at large understands the good work we do?
The first thing you should consider is to ensure you have a solid understanding of your program and what you want the public to know about it. Without having a strong understanding of the benefits of your school counseling program, it may prove difficult to educate questioning parents or community members about the program’s worth.
Once you have a solid understanding of what it is you want to share, consider how to share the information to reach the most constituencies. Following are some ideas:
Curriculum night/open house/parent-teacher conference nights: These special school nights are the ideal time to educate parents/guardians about you and your program. Place yourself in a central location to visit with the most parents.
Pamphlet/handout: Written information is a helpful item to put in parents’ hands as they come to visit with you and share their concerns. You can also put a pamphlet in back-to-school packets or when new students move into your district. Be sure to provide the information in multiple languages to meet your community’s needs.
Website: Include a section on your school/district website with information about the school counseling program, curriculum and your intentions while working with the students during the academic year.
Email: You can also send emails introducing yourself and your program to students’ families. This is a good way to send online links to articles parents/guardians might find informative, newsletters or other information that keep parents/guardians in the know.
Texting: In a similar vein, many schools have a texting system that sends one text to everyone on the system. This is a great way to remind families about upcoming deadlines and important school counseling activities.
Social media: If allowed by your school district policies, social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. can get information out quickly. Remember not to post students’ pictures unless their parents/guardians have provided permission, and to follow district guidance.
Local newspaper: Depending on your community, posting things in the local newspaper may be just as effective as having a Facebook page or Twitter account.
School board meetings: As the school year continues, speaking with your school board about your program is another way to let the community know about your program, especially if it is televised. It’s also a great way for the school board to better understand what you do and the vital part you play in students’ academic, career and social/emotional development.
National School Counseling Week: During the first full week of February, you have the opportunity to let your building and your community know about your school counseling program.
In today’s increasingly divisive climate, we must remember it is our ethical responsibility to keep the lines of communication open with community stakeholders. Parents/guardians send their children to public school first and foremost to focus on academics. Our job as school counselors is to help all families understand how the school counseling program contributes to positive student outcomes and to dispel misinformation. The more open we are about our program, the more likely it is that parents will see the positive side of school counseling and will become our ally.
Richard McCoy is a school counselor in Dixon, Mo., serves on the ASCA Ethics Committee and is an ASCA U Legal & Ethical Specialist.
In my training, I’ve been told we should always get permission from parents/guardians before adding their child to a small group. Is this best practice or something we are legally bound to do?
With our ever-increasing time constraints, small-group counseling can be a valuable school counseling tool. There are some ethical considerations to keep in mind when working with small groups, and parent/guardian permission is one of them.
The ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors makes it clear that it’s best practice to inform parents/guardians of any small-group work that school counselors wish to engage in with their students. Section A.7. Group Work states, “School counselors (will) inform parents/guardians of student participation in and the purpose of the small group.” In “School Counseling Principles: Ethics and Law,” author Carolyn Stone, Ed.D., writes, “Group workers obtain the appropriate consent/assent for work with minors and other dependent group members.”
Best practice, then, includes both obtaining the student’s agreement to join the small group as well as informing and obtaining consent from the parent/guardian. Without this consent, best practice dictates the student cannot join the small group.
The second point to consider is the legality of needing permission for small-group work. Are we “legally bound” to get permission for a student to join a small group? Do we have legal precedence for guidance in this manner?
There has been recent interest in states introducing and, in some cases passing, parental permission laws pertaining to access to school counseling services. School counselors should inquire with their district office or school administrator to ensure they are following established district policies or state laws. And remember, the ASCA Ethical Standards remind us that parents/guardians have the right to be the guiding voice in their children’s lives.
Keeping Notes on Students
I hear conflicting advice about whether to keep notes on my students. Some say never keep them, and some say keep them. Should I keep notes on my students and, if so, how much information is too much?
Accountability is a word that continues to build steam in today’s world. Are we doing enough for students? Are we meeting students’ social/emotional needs? And, is there a way to show we are meeting these needs on an individual basis? To this end, the topic of keeping student notes is more important than ever.
Student notes can be a concern, however. On the one hand, we want a memory aid to help us recall specific things students tell us in case we need the information in the future. On the other hand, we don’t want our written words to be subpoenaed and possibly taken out of context in a court of law. Some school counselors insist on recording every interaction they have. Others say they won’t even write student initials on a calendar they keep in their bottom drawer. What, then, is an appropriate way to keep notes on students, and is there a reason why we should never keep these notes?
To begin, we should consider what the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) mandates about the keeping of notes by educators. FERPA’s express purpose is giving parents/guardians access to the information contained in student education records to protect their children’s educational interests. However, not every written word is considered an educational record or open for access and disclosure.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, records that are (1) kept in the sole possession of the maker of the records, (2) are used only as a personal memory aid and (3) are not accessible or revealed to any other person except a temporary substitute for the maker of the records are considered exempt from FERPA. These are known as sole-possession records. This gives us the legal foundation to build upon. Our next consideration is the nature of the records we’re keeping and if they are sole-possession records or educational records.
Sole-possession records are normally the barest of information that will help jog the school counselor’s memory but don’t contain great detail. Typically, student notes contain the student’s name, the date, and minimal details to jog our memory. The level of specificity of these notes is what can determine the difference between sole-possession records and educational records. Keep in mind that proving your notes are sole-possession can be difficult. It’s important to realize your notes could be requested by parents or subpoenaed by a court of law.
As we are not clinical therapists, we don’t have time nor the need to keep copious notes on our students. However, there are occasions when students come to us for help with such issues as suicidal ideation or to report child abuse or self-harm, and it is vitally important to keep professional notes with key details listed in these instances. In this case, school counselors need to record information with the mindset that these notes may be subpoenaed in most states and, again, could be requested by parents.
Here are some examples as to what is a memory aid/sole possession and what would be considered educational records:
Memory aids:
- Taking a note to remind yourself of Amelia’s behavior in the hallway.
- James asks you in the hallway about a scholarship. You jot his name on your to-do list and make a note to meet with him tomorrow.
- The principal asks you to meet up with Mari-Ellin and Kayla, who were best friends but now seem at odds. You make a quick note to meet with them this afternoon.
- You have been talking with Kenton’s mother about some intervention, and after observing him in a classroom lesson you presented, you make a note of some of Kenton’s behaviors needing attention.
- After a counseling meeting with Alex, you write down his name, the date, the time you saw him, two sentences about what you discussed and the recommendations you gave him.
- You meet with Jessie and write down her name, the date, the time you saw her, and the words “same-sex relationship” to summarize the conversation.
- Tina stops you in the hallway and explains her mother is very sick. You spend 15 minutes talking to her, walk with her to class, slip a note to the teacher about why Tina is tardy, and make plans to talk more the next day. You return to your office and write down her name, the date, the time you saw her and a couple of sentences to capture her issues.
- Charlie sees you to change his schedule to get out of a class he is failing. After you meet with him, you go to your district’s required electronic record-keeping program, where you record his name, the date and check the box on the drop-down menu titled “academic concerns,” which then releases a more detailed menu to which you check “work is too difficult” and “student unable to understand the teacher’s instruction.”
Sometimes my principal or teachers want me to tell them what’s going on with a particular student. Is there ever a time when I should share something I found out from a student?
The bond between the school counselor and students is one based on trust that the school counselor won’t share what students may divulge to the school counselor. Overall, we can keep that confidence, within reason. If a student’s safety is in question, however, school counselors can share information with administrators or fellow educators. School counselors must ensure that school personnel understand the information is sensitive and that it must be kept confidential to preserve the student’s dignity and rights, as well as your relationship with the student.
Following are three groups of educators with whom you may need to share student information. As in all things, check with your state school counselor association’s ethics committee if you are unsure about the standards for your state.
Administration: Administrators should be made aware of any threats to self or to others. Reports made to human services or calls to the police should be made known to the administration team as well.
School counseling team: Other school counselors, psychologists or social workers will benefit from knowing about a student’s situation to make future consultation more beneficial and to keep additional eyes on the student in question in case you are out of the building when the student needs assistance.
Teaching staff: Sharing general information when you are concerned about a student, such as a student who has been struggling with a loss or depression, can be helpful so teachers can notify you of changing behavior in class or with peers. Typically, just asking teachers to notify you if they see any behaviors from the student that are different from the student’s normal behavior is enough.
There will always be well-meaning educators who send students to see you and then want to follow up with how the student is doing after your counseling session. Unless it’s a safety issue, it’s important to maintain the student’s privacy. You can gently remind the educators in question that you can’t break student confidentiality but that you appreciate the concern. You can also remind them to keep their eyes open for any future signs that bring them concern and let you know at once if they see anything that seems off from the student’s normal pattern of behavior.
Educating Constituencies
Given some of the attacks on social/emotional learning (SEL) and school counseling services under the guise of parental rights, what are some best practices for transparency when it comes to letting people know about my program so parents can learn about what school counseling is?
While we as school counselors understand the role SEL and school counseling services play in forming a well-rounded student, it’s important to realize not everyone understands or recognizes what we do as school counselors. Failing to combat misinformation about SEL and the services we offer as school counselors creates an opportunity for some colleagues, families and others to become suspicious of our role. What can we do, then, to ensure the community at large understands the good work we do?
The first thing you should consider is to ensure you have a solid understanding of your program and what you want the public to know about it. Without having a strong understanding of the benefits of your school counseling program, it may prove difficult to educate questioning parents or community members about the program’s worth.
Once you have a solid understanding of what it is you want to share, consider how to share the information to reach the most constituencies. Following are some ideas:
Curriculum night/open house/parent-teacher conference nights: These special school nights are the ideal time to educate parents/guardians about you and your program. Place yourself in a central location to visit with the most parents.
Pamphlet/handout: Written information is a helpful item to put in parents’ hands as they come to visit with you and share their concerns. You can also put a pamphlet in back-to-school packets or when new students move into your district. Be sure to provide the information in multiple languages to meet your community’s needs.
Website: Include a section on your school/district website with information about the school counseling program, curriculum and your intentions while working with the students during the academic year.
Email: You can also send emails introducing yourself and your program to students’ families. This is a good way to send online links to articles parents/guardians might find informative, newsletters or other information that keep parents/guardians in the know.
Texting: In a similar vein, many schools have a texting system that sends one text to everyone on the system. This is a great way to remind families about upcoming deadlines and important school counseling activities.
Social media: If allowed by your school district policies, social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. can get information out quickly. Remember not to post students’ pictures unless their parents/guardians have provided permission, and to follow district guidance.
Local newspaper: Depending on your community, posting things in the local newspaper may be just as effective as having a Facebook page or Twitter account.
School board meetings: As the school year continues, speaking with your school board about your program is another way to let the community know about your program, especially if it is televised. It’s also a great way for the school board to better understand what you do and the vital part you play in students’ academic, career and social/emotional development.
National School Counseling Week: During the first full week of February, you have the opportunity to let your building and your community know about your school counseling program.
In today’s increasingly divisive climate, we must remember it is our ethical responsibility to keep the lines of communication open with community stakeholders. Parents/guardians send their children to public school first and foremost to focus on academics. Our job as school counselors is to help all families understand how the school counseling program contributes to positive student outcomes and to dispel misinformation. The more open we are about our program, the more likely it is that parents will see the positive side of school counseling and will become our ally.
Richard McCoy is a school counselor in Dixon, Mo., serves on the ASCA Ethics Committee and is an ASCA U Legal & Ethical Specialist.