1. CPS New Counselor Training January 27, 2012
Lee Ann Lowder
Deputy General Counsel
phone: fax:

2. No Friending Students on Facebook
Acceptable Use Policy
No use of private accounts to communicate with students

3. Parental Consent for Counseling?
Not unless it’s group counseling in IEP for students with a disability

4. Disclosure of mental health records to Parent/Guardian
Students under 12:
√ parent/guardian
Students 12-17:
•If student is informed and does not object
• If counselor does not find compelling reason to deny access

5. Required Disclosures to Parents
Current physical and mental condition
Diagnosis
Treatment Needs
Services Provided
Services Needed, including medication, if any

6. Longitudinal Study of Bullies
60% of boys who were bullies in middle school had at least one conviction by age 24.
40% had three or more convictions.
Bullies were four times as likely as peers to have multiple convictions.

7. Children Who Bully are More Likely to:
Get into frequent fights/be injured in a fight
Steal, vandalize property
Drink alcohol
Smoke
Be truant, drop out of school
Report poor academic achievement
Perceive school as negative
Carry a weapon

8. Children who are bullied have
Lower self esteem
Higher rates of depression
More absences
More suicidal ideation

9. Students doubt adults will intervene
Only 35% believed teachers were interested in stopping bullying
Even fewer --
25% -- believed administrators were interested in stopping bullying

10. Safety of LGBTQ Students
84% reported verbal harassment
18% reported frequently hearing homophobic remarks
Only 15% reported that school staff intervened when they overheard these remarks

11. Lawrence King (1994–2008)
In 2008, this 8th grader, who had been repeatedly harassed at school because of his sexual orientation and dress, was murdered by a classmate in his Oxnard, California classroom.

12. CPS Student Code of Conduct
SCC Anti-Bullying Statement
The Chicago Public Schools prohibits any and all forms of bullying by students and will not tolerate acts of retaliation for making a report of bullying.
School staff shall identify and stop bullying behavior and refer perpetrators for appropriate discipline in accordance with this Student Code of Conduct. 27

13. SCC & Non-discrimination Policy
3-4 Offensive language, gestures based on sex
4-5 Battery
5-4 Use of intimidation, credible threat of violence, persistent severe bullying
Report Sexual Harassment to Principal, AP or EOCO,

14. LGBTQ Students
Board Rule 1-9 and CPS Non-discrimination Policy prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

15. Nabozny v. Podlesny, 7th Cir. (1996)
Gay student
subjected to daily verbal harassment
suffered mock rape
sustained internal injuries from repeated kicking
>1 suicide attempt
Principal
“Boys will be boys.”
“Act gay, expect abuse.”

16. Principal, AP & School Held Liable
School officials violated Equal Protection by treating Nabozny differently than female students who were victims of dating violence

17. CPS Employee Discipline Code
5-9: Any cruel, immoral conduct or communication that causes psychological or physical harm to a student
Discipline: Discharge
4-2: Negligent supervision resulting in psychological or physical injury to student
Disciplinary Options: day suspension, Warning Resolution, Discharge

18. Grant v. Board of Trustees of Valley View School Dist
Grant v. Board of Trustees of Valley View School Dist., IL Appellate Court (1997)
Students told School Counselor that HS senior made suicide threats and wrote suicide notes
School Counselor spoke with student, advised mother to take student to hospital for drug OD treatment
Did not advise mother of suicide threats
Student jumped off overpass to his death

19. Grant, cont’d Mother sued District and School Counselor for failing to
Call ambulance
Inform her of suicide threats
Implement a Suicide Prevention program

20. Public Employee Immunity
Public employees and entities aren’t liable for
Injuries caused by failure to make adequate mental examination to determine if person is danger to self or others
Injuries resulting from diagnosing or failing to diagnose mental illness or addiction

21. Public Employee Liability
School employees are liable if
Conduct is intentional or done with conscious disregard or indifference to student’s safety
They knew or should have known that their conduct posed a high probability of serious physical harm to the student

22. Grant Majority, cont’d Failure to call ambulance
School counselor’s conduct was not intentional or indifferent because she advised mother to take student to hospital

23. Grant Majority, cont’d
School Counselor’s failure to advise mother of suicide threats
Court found her conduct may have been negligent, but was not intentional or indifferent

24. Grant Dissent
Dissenting Judge thought the School Counselor acted with deliberate indifference to the threat and should be held liable.
She had “knowledge of an impending danger (suicide threats) but failed to exercise ordinary care to prevent it.”

25. Grant Court Directive
“The suicide death of a teenager is tragic. School counselors and other school personnel should take every suicide threat seriously and take every precaution to protect the child.”

26. Confidentiality Illinois School Code
“No school student records or information contained therein” may be disclosed or released except to a school employee or official “with current demonstrable educational or administrative interest in the student, in furtherance of such interest.”

27. CPS Employee Discipline Code
3-6 Violating the confidentiality of student records
Disciplinary Options:
1-15 day unpaid suspension
Warning Resolution

28. Albers v. Breen, Ill. App. Ct. (2004)
Seventh grader told School Social Worker/ LCSW he had been shoved and kicked and “would rather be dead than go to school.”
SSW promised mother she would not disclose the names of the bullies.
SSW gave the bullies’ names to the principal, who disciplined them.

29. Albers, cont’d Parents removed student from school
Sued Principal, Social Worker and District for violating MHDDCA

30. Albers, cont’d
Court found SSW acted in good faith in disclosing the bullies’ names because she thought the student was at risk of harm from shoving and kicking, and also because of his suicide threat.

31. Thanks for your attention!
Questions?