Legal Issues that Impact
School Psychological Practice
Nancy A. McKellar, Ph.D., N.C.S.P.
Director, School Psychology Program
Counseling, Educational Leadership, Educational and School Psychology
Wichita State University
nancy.mckellar@wichita.edu
Kansas Association of School Psychologists
2012 Fall Convention
October 11, 2012
3:00-4:30 pm
Legal Issues that Impact School
Psychological Practice
• 1. RESPONDING TO VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS
• 2. USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO STORE AND
TRANSMIT INFORMATION
• 3. INTERACTING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT
AND THE MEDIA
• 4. WORKING WITH FAMILIES WHO ARE NOT
ENGLISH SPEAKERS
Under the U.S. Constitution, education is not
a fundamental right.
Individual states provide
education as an entitlement.
14th Amendment to U.S. Constitution
equal protection: States cannot deny a person
equal protection under state law.
+
due process: States cannot deprive a person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law.
right to an education = a property right
There must be a procedure in place to
guarantee that the rights of the person are
not being violated (due process).
Why do states have to abide by
federal legislation if the Constitution
leaves the responsibility for education
to the states?
The Law
Federal legislation
US Supreme Court decisions
State Legislation
Case Law
Torts
1. RESPONDING TO VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS
– a. What duty to warn does a school psychologist have?
– b. Can you carry guns onto school property in Kansas?
– c. Are teachers, school psychologists, etc., required to break up fights?
– d. What recourse do you have if a student injures you?
2. USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO STORE AND TRANSMIT INFORMATION
– a. Is it okay to send records and other information about students via email?
– b. Can administrators read your email on the district’s email system?
– c. Is it okay to discuss students on social media, if you do so when you are not
at work?
3. INTERACTING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE MEDIA
– a. Can you be a “Dear Abby” in your local newspaper?
– b. Can you share student information with school resource officers without
parental permission?
– c. Must you get permission from an administrator before you report suspected
child abuse?
4. WORKING WITH FAMILIES WHO ARE NOT ENGLISH SPEAKERS
– a. When is consent “informed”?
– b. May you use the child or a sibling as an interpreter?
– c. Must schools educate children who are not in the United States legally?
1. RESPONDING TO VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS
–a. What duty to warn does a school
psychologist have?
When a student tells you of his/her plans to
harm another---Tarasoff
When other students tell you of another
student’s intention to harm---standard of
care
1. RESPOND ING TO VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS
– b. Can you carry guns onto school property
in Kansas?
• It is unlawful knowingly to sell, give or otherwise
transfer any firearm with a barrel less than 12 inches
to any person under 18.
• A law enforcement officer
• Firearms safety/education course
• Authorized by superintendent
• Secured in vehicle when coming to deliver/collect a
student
• Secured in vehicle when registered voter comes to
polling place
1. RESPONDING TO VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS
–c. Are teachers, school psychologists,
etc., required to break up fights?
This is not specifically addressed in
Kansas law.
In loco parentis
Negligence --- standard of care
1. RESPONDING TO VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS
–d. What recourse do you have if a student
injures you?
Workers’ compensation
“RUN HIDE FIGHT Surviving an Active
Shooter” (on YouTube) created by City of
Houston with funding from Homeland
Security
2. USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO STORE AND
TRANSMIT INFORMATION
– a. Is it okay to send records and other
information about students via email?
“Don’t put anything on email that
you wouldn’t put on a postcard.”
FERPA
NASP ethical guidelines
2. USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO STORE AND
TRANSMIT INFORMATION
– b. Can administrators read your email
on the district’s email system?
Yes---You have no reasonable expectation
of privacy.
2. USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO STORE AND
TRANSMIT INFORMATION
– c. Is it okay to discuss students on
social media, if you do so when you
are not at work?
FERPA
Invasion of privacy
Invasion of Privacy
“Invasion of privacy is a multifaceted tort that can be
committed in four different ways:
(a) appropriation or use of a person’s name or likeness
for gain, such as using the name of a movie star to
promote a product without permission;
(b) unreasonable intrusion on the seclusion of another;
(c) unreasonable publication of private facts about
another---the unreasonable publication must involve
public disclosure of private facts, and the matter made
public must be highly offensive and objectionable to a
reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities (the truth of
the private facts is not a defense);
(d) unreasonable publication that places another in a
false light in the public eye.”
(Imber & Van Geel, 2010, p. 277)
3. INTERACTING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT
AND THE MEDIA
–a. Can you be a “Dear Abby” in your
local newspaper?
FERPA
APA ethics
3. INTERACTING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT
AND THE MEDIA
–b. Can you share student information with
school resource officers without parental
permission?
FERPA:
Yes: health or safety emergency
Yes: subpoena or judicial order
No: emergency preparation activities
3. INTERACTING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT
AND THE MEDIA
–c. Must you get permission from an
administrator before you report
suspected child abuse?
NO NO NO
4. WORKING WITH FAMILIES WHO ARE NOT
ENGLISH SPEAKERS
–a. When is consent “informed”?
“Informed consent means that the person
giving consent has the legal authority to make a
consent decision, a clear understanding of what
it is he or she is consenting to, and that his or
her consent is freely given and may be
withdrawn without prejudice.” (Jacob, Decker, & Hartshorne,
2011, p. 266)
How much understanding of
English is “enough” to understand
what you are consenting to?
25% ?
40% ?
50% ?
75% ?
85% ?
90% ?
4. WORKING WITH FAMILIES WHO ARE NOT
ENGLISH SPEAKERS
–b. May you use the child or a sibling
as an interpreter?
Not advisable
4. WORKING WITH FAMILIES WHO ARE NOT
ENGLISH SPEAKERS
–c. Must schools educate children who
are not in the United States legally?
YES
Response Via Email(Julio Torres) - 10/09/2012 09:49 AM
Thank you for contacting the United States Department of Education.
In 1982, the Supreme Court in Plyler vs. Doe (457 U.S. 202), ruled that the
Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from denying a free public
education to undocumented immigrant children regardless of their
immigrant status. The court emphatically declared that school systems are
not agents for enforcing immigration law, and determined that the burden
that undocumented aliens may place on school districts is not an acceptable
argument for excluding or denying educational service to any student.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects people from discrimination
based on race, color or national origin in programs or activities that receive
Federal financial assistance. Title VI states that:
"No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or
national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of,
or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving
Federal financial assistance."
Among the sources used to prepare this
presentation were the following:
Bloomfield, D.C. (2012). American public education law
primer (2nd ed.). New York: Peter Lang.
Imber, M., & van Geel, T. (2010). A teacher’s guide to
education law (4th ed.). New York: Routledge.
Jacob, S., Decker, D.M., & Hartshorne, T.S. (2011). Ethics
and law for school psychologists (6th ed.). Hoboken,
N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Lawrence, R. (2007). School crime and juvenile justice
(2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Merrell, K.W., Ervin, R.A., & Peacock, G.G. (2012). School
psychology for the 21st century: Foundations and
practices (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
Other good information:
• The website of the U.S. Department of
Education (www.ed.gov) has copies of
numerous laws; information sheets for
parents in several languages; and a questionsubmission option.
• Watch the award-winning video, “RUN HIDE
FIGHT Surviving an Active Shooter” (on
YouTube), created by the City of Houston
with funding from Homeland Security.