Location: Online, Self-paced

Course Description
School counselors must navigate some of the most challenging ethical and legal dilemmas facing counselors today and have many distinct roles that can lead to conflicting priorities. Their primary clients are minors whose legal rights belong to their parents or guardians – so conflicts are inevitable. Additionally school counselors deal with some of society’s most perplexing and difficult issues on a daily basis, including confidentiality, suicide, self-harm, violence, teen pregnancy, divorce, drug and alcohol abuse, child abuse and neglect, subpoenas and administrative supervision. Add to this long list more recent societal challenges including the use of technology by students and school counselors, addressing the needs of racial and sexual minority students and the risk of being sued. Because of these challenges, which change daily, keeping current with legal and ethical issues in the schools is essential for school counselors. View the Specialist syllabus. 

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Practice the latest thinking in important areas of school counseling ethics and law.
2. Summarize the major components of the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors.
3. Explain the progression and major changes of the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors over the last three revisions (2004, 2010, 2016).
4. Discuss the intent, meaning and use of the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors.
5. Discuss court cases involving school counselors and the ethical and legal implications associated with them.
6. Examine their own values in ethical decision-making.
7. Develop a tolerance for ambiguity in ethical decision-making.
8. Learn about the minimum standard of care for the reasonably competent professional.
9. Apply guiding principles as established by the courts.

Registration Fee
The Legal & Ethical Specialist training is $99 ($249 for nonmembers) and is equal to 5 CEUs/50 Contact Hours. Graduate credit is available for an additional fee.