|
CONFIDENTIALITY
is an ethical concept which states that what is said between two
people will remain secret and will not be shared without
consent. The
ASCA Ethical Standards state that counselors should keep
information confidential unless disclosure is required to prevent
clear and imminent danger to the student or others when legal
requirements demand that confidential information be revealed.
The Ethical standards also state that while the counselor's primary
obligation for confidentiality is to the student, the counselor should
"balance that obligation with an understanding of the legal and
inherent rights of parents/guardians to be the guiding voice in their
children's lives." Counselors are advised to explain the
limits of confidentiality to all students so they do not feel betrayed
if confidentiality must be broken.
PRIVILEGED
COMMUNICATION is a legal concept that protects school counselors
from forced disclosure to a third party. School counselors and
school social workers have privileged communication in Indiana.
School nurses and school psychologists do not have privileged
communication in Indiana.
School
Counselor Immunity - Privileged Communication (IC 20-6.1-6-5)
FEDERAL
EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA) is a law that protects
the privacy of educational records. FERPA gives parents rights
that transfer to a student at the age of 18. Generally, schools
must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in
order to release any information from a student's education
record. Most schools use a Release of Records form that is
signed by parents (or eligible student) when they ask that records be
sent to insurance companies, community mental health counselors,
etc. However, schools may release information to the following
without written permission: school officials with legitimate
educational interests, schools to which a student is transferring,
appropriate parties in connection with financial aid, and
others. In 2001, the congress passed legislation requiring
schools to release education records to the military in the same way
they do to postsecondary institutions. FERPA also gives parents
and eligible students the right to inspect and review the student's
education records. See counselor notes below.
Introduction
to FERPA (federal government)
Copy of
FERPA
Access
to Records by Military Recruiters
COUNSELOR
NOTES: According to FERPA, educational records do NOT
include, "records of instructional, supervisory, and
administrative personnel and educational personnel ancillary thereto
which are in the sole possession of the maker thereof and which are
not accessible or revealed to any other person except a
substitute." This means that as long as a counselor's
personal notes are never shared with another individual (or referred
to which another individual, the are NOT part of the educational
record and parents do NOT have the right to inspect and review
them. However, if the counselor notes are shared or referred to
(e.g. during a case conference or student assistance team meeting),
they become part of the educational record and MUST be shared with
parents who request to see the student's educational record. For
this reason, many counselors keep a set of counseling notes that are
separate from the educational record and are never shared with others.
STUDENT
SURVEYS, PERSONAL ANALYSIS, EVALUATIONS
Indiana
Code (IC20-10.1-4-15)
states that surveys, personal analyses, and evaluations (as described
below) must be voluntary. Surveys, personal analyses, and
evaluations can only be required with the prior consent of the student
or written consent of the parent or guardian if the student is a minor
or unemancipated).
The
surveys, analyses, and evaluations addressed by this section of the
Indiana Code (IC20-10.1-4-15) are those which 1) not directly related to
academic instruction be administered on a voluntary basis, and 2)
reveals or attempts to affect the student's attitudes, habits, traits,
opinions, beliefs, or feelings concerning political affiliations,
religious beliefs or practices, mental or psychological conditions that
may embarrass the student or the student's family; sexual behavior or
attitudes, illegal, antisocial, self-incriminating, or demeaning
behavior, critical appraisals of other individual with whom the student
has a close family relationship; legal recognized privileged or
confidential relationships including a relationship with a lawyer,
minister, or physician; pr income (except as required by law to
determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving
financial assistance under a program.
The
Indiana Code also states that any instructional materials used in
conjunction with the surveys, personal analyses, and evaluations
described above must be made available for inspection by the parents or
guardians of a student.
|