SSW Ethical & Legal Practices 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student in crisis discloses active suicidal ideation with a plan. The school social worker's immediate ethical and legal priority is to:
- Schedule a follow-up appointment for the next school day
- Ensure the student's immediate safety through intervention, notification, and referral (Correct answer)
- Maintain confidentiality since the disclosure was made in session
- Contact the student's teacher first before taking further action
Correct answer: Ensure the student's immediate safety through intervention, notification, and referral
Active suicidal ideation with a plan constitutes an imminent safety emergency requiring immediate intervention, parental notification, and connection to crisis resources.
Question 2: Which ethical principle is most at stake when a school social worker allows personal political views to influence decisions about student services?
- Confidentiality
- Self-determination
- Objectivity and non-discrimination (Correct answer)
- Mandatory reporting
Correct answer: Objectivity and non-discrimination
Social workers must provide services objectively and without discrimination, ensuring personal beliefs do not bias professional decisions affecting students.
Question 3: A school social worker is asked by an administrator to release a student's therapy notes to the school's legal team. Under FERPA and ethical standards, the worker should:
- Comply immediately since the request comes from school administration
- Seek parental consent and consult legal counsel before releasing the records (Correct answer)
- Shred the notes to protect student privacy
- Share a verbal summary but refuse to release written records
Correct answer: Seek parental consent and consult legal counsel before releasing the records
Releasing personally identifiable student information requires compliance with FERPA, which typically requires consent from eligible students or parents except in specific legal exceptions.
Question 4: The concept of 'least restrictive environment' in special education law requires that students with disabilities:
- Always be placed in general education classrooms regardless of need
- Be educated alongside non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate (Correct answer)
- Receive services only in specialized settings to ensure safety
- Have their placement determined solely by diagnosis category
Correct answer: Be educated alongside non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate
LRE requires that students with disabilities be educated with non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate given their individual needs and IEP goals.
Question 5: A school social worker discovers that their supervisor is falsifying documentation in student records. Ethical guidelines direct the social worker to:
- Comply to avoid jeopardizing their employment
- Report the misconduct through internal channels and, if unresolved, to external oversight bodies (Correct answer)
- Correct the falsifications secretly without reporting the supervisor
- Resign immediately without taking any formal action
Correct answer: Report the misconduct through internal channels and, if unresolved, to external oversight bodies
Ethical obligations require social workers to report unethical conduct through appropriate channels, escalating to external bodies if internal reporting is ineffective.
Question 6: Title IX protections require a school social worker to:
- Maintain confidentiality in all cases of reported sexual harassment
- Report and respond to sexual harassment or assault regardless of the victim's gender (Correct answer)
- Refer all Title IX cases exclusively to law enforcement without school involvement
- Address only incidents that occur on school property during school hours
Correct answer: Report and respond to sexual harassment or assault regardless of the victim's gender
Title IX obligates schools and their staff to address sexual harassment and assault affecting any student regardless of gender, including in programs connected to the school.
Question 7: A school social worker practices 'reflective supervision' primarily to:
- Fulfill a mandatory annual review requirement
- Examine their own emotional reactions and biases to improve ethical, effective practice (Correct answer)
- Document their caseload for administrative reporting purposes
- Train new staff members in standard protocols
Correct answer: Examine their own emotional reactions and biases to improve ethical, effective practice
Reflective supervision supports ethical practice by helping social workers examine countertransference, biases, and emotional responses that could affect professional judgment.
SSW Ethical & Legal Practices 5
A student in crisis discloses active suicidal ideation with a plan.
The school social worker's immediate ethical and legal priority is to: