La. Admin. Code tit. 46 § LXIII-4207

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section LXIII-4207 - Professional Competence and Responsibility

A. Beneficence, or responsible caring, means that the LSSP acts to benefit others. To do this, LSSPs must practice within the boundaries of their competence, use scientific knowledge from psychology and education to help clients and others make informed choices, and accept responsibility for their work.

1. To benefit clients, LSSPs engage only in practices for which they are qualified and competent.

a. LSSPs recognize the strengths and limitations of their training and experience, engaging only in practices for which they are qualified. They enlist the assistance of other professionals in supervisory, consultative, or referral roles as appropriate in providing effective services.

b. Practitioners are obligated to pursue knowledge and understanding of the diverse cultural, linguistic, and experiential backgrounds of students, families, and other clients. When knowledge and understanding of diversity characteristics are essential to ensure competent assessment, intervention, or consultation, LSSPs have or obtain the training or supervision necessary to provide effective services, or they make appropriate referrals.

c. LSSPs refrain from any activity in which their personal problems may interfere with professional effectiveness. They seek assistance when personal problems threaten to compromise their professional effectiveness (also see §4209.A.4 Multiple Relationships and Conflicts of Interest).

d. LSSPs engage in continuing professional development. They remain current regarding developments in research, training, and professional practices that benefit children, families, and schools. They also understand that professional skill development beyond that of the novice practitioner requires well-planned continuing professional development and professional supervision.

2. Accepting Responsibility for Actions. LSSPs accept responsibility for their professional work, monitor the effectiveness of their services, and work to correct ineffective recommendations.

a. LSSPs review all of their written documents for accuracy, signing them only when correct. They may add an addendum, dated and signed, to a previously submitted report if information is found to be inaccurate or incomplete.

b. LSSPs actively monitor the impact of their recommendations and intervention plans. They revise a recommendation, or modify or terminate an intervention plan, when data indicate the desired outcomes are not being attained. LSSPs seek the assistance of others in supervisory, consultative, or referral roles when progress monitoring indicates that their recommendations and interventions are not effective in assisting a client.

c. LSSPs accept responsibility for the appropriateness of their professional practices, decisions, and recommendations. They correct misunderstandings resulting from their recommendations, advice, or information and take affirmative steps to offset any harmful consequences of ineffective or inappropriate recommendations.

d. When supervising graduate students' field experiences or internships, LSSPs are responsible for the work of their supervisees.

3. Responsible Assessment and Intervention Practices. LSSPs maintain the highest standard for responsible professional practices in educational and psychological assessment and direct and indirect interventions.

a. Prior to the consideration of a disability label or category, the effects of current behavior management and/or instructional practices on the student's school performance are considered.

b. LSSPs use assessment techniques and practices that the profession considers to be responsible, research-based practice.

i. LSSPs use assessment instruments whose validity and reliability have been established for use with members of the population tested. When such validity or reliability has not been established, psychologists describe the strengths and limitations of test results and interpretation.

ii. LSSPs use assessment methods that are appropriate to an individual's language preference and competence, unless the use of an alternative language is relevant to the assessment issues.

iii. When using standardized measures, LSSPs adhere to the procedures for administration of the instrument that is provided by the author or publisher of the instrument. If modifications are made in the administration procedures for standardized tests or other instruments, such modifications are identified and discussed in the interpretation of the results.

iv. If using norm-referenced measures, LSSPs choose instruments with up-to-date normative data.

v. When using computer-administered assessments, computer-assisted scoring, and/or interpretation programs, LSSPs choose programs that meet professional standards for accuracy and validity. LSSPs use professional judgment in evaluating the accuracy of computer-assisted assessment findings for the examinee.

c. A psychological or psychoeducational assessment is based on a variety of different types of information from different sources.

d. Consistent with education law and sound professional practice, children with suspected disabilities are assessed in all areas related to the suspected disability.

e. LSSPs conduct valid and fair assessments. They actively pursue knowledge of the student's disabilities and developmental, cultural, linguistic, and experiential background and then select, administer, and interpret assessment instruments and procedures in light of those characteristics (see also §4205.A.3.a and §4205.A.3 b

f. When interpreters are used to facilitate the provision of assessment and intervention services, LSSPs take steps to ensure that the interpreters are appropriately trained and are acceptable to clients.

g. It is permissible for LSSPs to make recommendations based solely on a review of existing records. However, they should utilize a representative sample of records and explain the basis for, and the limitations of, their recommendations.

h. LSSPs adequately interpret findings and present results in clear, understandable terms so that the recipient can make informed choices.

i. LSSPs use intervention, counseling and therapy procedures, consultation techniques, and other direct and indirect service methods that the profession considers to be responsible, research-based practice:

i. LSSPs use a problem-solving process to develop interventions appropriate to the presenting problems and that are consistent with data collected.

ii. Preference is given to interventions described in the peer-reviewed professional research literature and LSSPs encourage and promote parental participation in designing interventions for their children. When appropriate, this includes linking interventions between the school and the home, tailoring parental involvement to the skills of the family, and helping parents gain the skills needed to help their children.

j. LSSPs discuss with parents the recommendations and plans for assisting their children.

i. This discussion takes into account the ethnic/cultural values of the family and includes alternatives that may be available. Subsequent recommendations for program changes or additional services are discussed with parents, including any alternatives that may be available.

ii. Parents are informed of sources of support available at school and in the community.

k. LSSPs discuss with students the recommendations and plans for assisting them. To the maximum extent appropriate, students are invited to participate in selecting and planning interventions.

4. Responsible School-Based Record Keeping. LSSPs safeguard the privacy of school psychological records and ensure parent access to the records of their own children.

a. LSSPs ensure that parents and adult students are informed of their rights regarding creation, modification, storage, and disposal of psychological and educational records that result from the provision of services. Parents and adult students are notified of the electronic storage and transmission of personally identifiable school psychological records and the associated risks to privacy.

b. LSSPs ensure that documentation of their work is maintained with sufficient detail to be useful in decision making by another professional and with sufficient detail to withstand scrutiny if challenged in a due process or other legal procedure.

c. LSSPs include only documented and relevant information from reliable sources in school psychological records.

d. LSSPs ensure that parents have appropriate access to the psychological and educational records of their child.

i. Parents have a right to access any and all information that is used to make educational decisions about their child.

ii. LSSPs respect the right of parents to inspect, but not necessarily to copy, their child's answers to school psychological test questions, even if those answers are recorded on a test protocol (also see §4207.A.5 a

e. LSSPs take steps to ensure that information in school psychological records is not released to persons or agencies outside of the school without the consent of the parent except as required and permitted by law.

f. To the extent that school psychological records are under their control, LSSPs ensure that only those school personnel who have a legitimate educational interest in a student are given access to the student's school psychological records without prior parent permission or the permission of an adult student.

g. To the extent that school psychological records are under their control, LSSPs protect electronic files from unauthorized release or modification (e.g., by using passwords and encryption), and they take reasonable steps to ensure that school psychological records are not lost due to equipment failure.

h. It is ethically permissible for LSSPs to keep private notes to use as a memory aid that are not made accessible to others. However, as noted in §4207.A.4 d, any and all information that is used to make educational decisions about a student must be accessible to parents and adult students.

i. LSSPs, in collaboration with administrators and other school staff, work to establish policies regarding the storage and disposal of school psychological records that are consistent with law and sound professional practice. They advocate for school policies and practices that:

i. safeguard the security of school psychological records while facilitating appropriate parent access to those records;

ii. identify timelines for the periodic review and disposal of outdated school psychological records that are consistent with law and sound professional practice;

iii. seek parent or other appropriate permission prior to the destruction of obsolete school psychological records of current students;

iv. ensure that obsolete school psychology records are destroyed in a way that the information cannot be recovered.

5. Responsible Use of Materials. LSSPs respect the intellectual property rights of those who produce tests, intervention materials, scholarly works, and other materials.

a. LSSPs maintain test security, preventing the release of underlying principles and specific content that would undermine or invalidate the use of the instrument. Unless otherwise required by law or policy, LSSPs provide parents with the opportunity to inspect and review their child's test answers rather than providing them with copies of their child's test protocols.

b. LSSPs do not promote or condone the use of restricted psychological and educational tests or other assessment tools or procedures by individuals who are not qualified to use them.

c. LSSPs recognize the effort and expense involved in the development and publication of psychological and educational tests, intervention materials, and scholarly works. They respect the intellectual property rights and copyright interests of the producers of such materials, whether the materials are published in print or digital formats. They do not duplicate copyright-protected test manuals, testing materials, or unused test protocols without the permission of the producer. However, LSSPs understand that, at times, parents' rights to examine their child's test answers may supersede the interests of test publishers.

La. Admin. Code tit. 46, § LXIII-4207

Promulgated by the Department of Health, Board of Examiners of Psychologists, LR 49660 (4/1/2023).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 37:2357.