Ethics and Law for School Psychologists, 8th Edition

Chapter 7 ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES IN SCHOOL-BASED INTERVENTIONS

As noted in Chapter 1, school-based practitioners often provide services that are not within the scope of an established psychologist–client relationship, such as consultation to student assistance teams or within classrooms. In this chapter, we first explore the ethical-legal issues associated with delivering services within a multitiered system of academic and behavioral support. Then we explore the ethical-legal issues associated with providing counseling and other therapeutic interventions within the context of a school psychologist–client relationship.

MULTITIERED SYSTEMS OF ACADEMIC AND BEHAVIORAL SUPPORT

In 2006, a task force composed of experts in the field of school psychology completed the document titled School Psychology: A Blueprint for Training and Practice III (Ysseldyke et al., 2006), in which the authors suggested that the goals of improving educational and mental health outcomes for all students, and the capacity of systems to meet the needs of all students, can best be achieved by a three-tier model of service delivery (p. 13), now referred to as a multitiered system of support (MTSS). Kilgus and Von Der Embse described MTSS as “an educational service delivery model in which all students are provided academic and behavioral supports that are matched to need and skill level.” Components of MTSS include “multiple tiers of high-quality instruction and intervention, evidence-based and informative ...