ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights essential ethical and legal issues in group work in schools, including confidentiality, informed consent, relationships among group members, termination issues, group participation, diversity issues, and FERPA. Major applicable laws, codes of ethics, and best practice guidelines are reviewed.
One of the attributes of sound group work practice in schools is the continuous assessment and reflection of the way in which a leader interacts with students. This reflective process is necessary to ensure that a leader provides the most appropriate ethical and legal group work services to students and is particularly important given the myriad issues with which group leaders deal on a daily basis. Some issues are clearly governed by either legal or ethical mandates; other issues are not as clear and challenge leaders to determine the appropriate course of action. When challenges arise, it is wise to begin with an examination of the ethical standards and legal issues as the basis for reflection. This process is particularly important when conducting groups, as the issues often are more complex than dealing with one student at a time.
