CAPE Professional Ethics & Standards 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A CAPE practitioner notices a colleague consistently fails to document student IEP goals related to physical education. The most appropriate first step is to:
- Report the colleague directly to state licensing authorities
- Address the concern privately with the colleague first (Correct answer)
- Ignore the issue as documentation is an administrative task
- Inform students' parents without speaking to the colleague
Correct answer: Address the concern privately with the colleague first
Professional ethics call for addressing concerns with a colleague directly before escalating to authorities.
Question 2: The CAPE Code of Ethics requires adapted physical educators to maintain competency primarily through:
- Attending only state-mandated trainings
- Continuous professional development and staying current with evidence-based practice (Correct answer)
- Relying solely on pre-certification training
- Consulting only with general physical education teachers
Correct answer: Continuous professional development and staying current with evidence-based practice
The Code of Ethics obligates CAPEs to pursue ongoing professional development to maintain and advance their competence.
Question 3: When a student's parent requests access to their child's physical education assessment records, a CAPE must:
- Deny access to protect student privacy from all parties
- Provide access in accordance with FERPA regulations (Correct answer)
- Provide access only if the student consents
- Refer the parent to the school principal exclusively
Correct answer: Provide access in accordance with FERPA regulations
FERPA grants parents the right to inspect and review their child's educational records, including PE assessments.
Question 4: A CAPE working in a school district is asked by an administrator to falsify a student's fitness scores to avoid additional services. The CAPE should:
- Comply to maintain employment
- Refuse and report the request through appropriate channels (Correct answer)
- Alter only minor scores to partially comply
- Consult the student's parents before deciding
Correct answer: Refuse and report the request through appropriate channels
Falsifying records is unethical and illegal; CAPEs must refuse and report such directives through proper channels.
Question 5: Which scenario best represents a conflict of interest for a CAPE?
- Attending a professional conference while employed
- Recommending adapted equipment sold by a company in which the CAPE has a financial stake (Correct answer)
- Collaborating with an occupational therapist on a student's program
- Serving on a district curriculum committee
Correct answer: Recommending adapted equipment sold by a company in which the CAPE has a financial stake
Recommending products in which one has a personal financial interest creates a conflict between professional duty and self-interest.
Question 6: The principle of beneficence in adapted physical education ethics means the CAPE must:
- Avoid all risk of harm at the expense of student participation
- Act in ways that actively promote the well-being and best interests of students (Correct answer)
- Follow administrator directives even when they harm students
- Prioritize program efficiency over individual student outcomes
Correct answer: Act in ways that actively promote the well-being and best interests of students
Beneficence requires actively promoting student welfare and well-being, not merely avoiding harm.
Question 7: A CAPE is asked to provide adapted PE services for a student whose disability falls outside the CAPE's area of expertise. The ethical response is to:
- Provide services anyway to avoid delays in the student's program
- Seek additional training, consult specialists, or refer appropriately (Correct answer)
- Decline all involvement with the student
- Provide only general PE services without adaptation
Correct answer: Seek additional training, consult specialists, or refer appropriately
Professional ethics require CAPEs to practice within their competence and seek consultation or referral when needed.
CAPE Professional Ethics & Standards 2
A CAPE practitioner notices a colleague consistently fails to document student IEP goals related to physical education.
The most appropriate first step is to: