Code of Ethics, Case Studies, and Consequences
Assignment #4: Paper: Code of Ethics, Case Studies, and Consequences (30 points)
Description: In this assignment, you will research, become familiar with, and summarize the codes of ethics that guide your work as an educator (Part 1). You will then apply those codes to determine the appropriate and legal courses of action in response to three case studies (Part 2). You will complete the assignment by discussing the possible consequences for teachers who violate the code(s) of ethics in your school district.
Directions: [Note that there are three parts to this assignment. Make sure that you include all three!
Part 1: To begin this assignment, read and summarize the codes of ethics for the following
a. National: National Education Association. (2017). Code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/
b. State (Locate your state’s code of ethics. Examples are provided below.)
Florida:
Florida Department of Education. (2016). Principles of professional conduct for the education profession in Florida. Retrieved from http://www.fldoe.org/
Florida Department of Education. (2018). FAQ for educators. Generated: 12/29/2020 Page 4 of 15 http://www.fldoe.org/
Nevada: Professional Association of Clark County Educators. (1994-2014). Code of ethics for educators. Retrieved from http://www.
c. Professional Code of Ethics: Council for Exceptional Children. (n.d.) Ethical principles and professional practice standards for special educators. Retrieved from https://www.cec.sped.org/
Summarize the main legal and ethical components from the national, state, and professional codes of ethics in a brief, but informative narrative that includes a discussion of the following focal questions:
*Who or what is the educator’s primary responsibility?
*How can the educator strive to achieve and sustain the highest degree of ethical conduct?
* What are the types of behaviors (e.g., bullying child abuse, etc.) that the educator should report to administration?
* What are the reasons for suspension of a professional?
Part 2: Review and respond to the following case studies within the context of the codes of ethics:
Case Study 1: You are a new fourth grade teacher in an elementary school and notice that one of your students consistently comes to school in the morning with dirty clothes, body odor, and suspicious bruises on his arms. According to the ethics codes and district faculty policies, what should be your plan of action for addressing this issue (Use the websites below or review your state and district policies as a basis for developing your plan of action citing state and/or district policies as appropriate.
Florida Department of Education, Office of Professional Practices Reporting Misconduct and Abuse http://www.fldoe.org/
The 2012 Florida Statutes K-20 Education Code, Chapter 1006, Support For Learning 1006.061 Child abuse, abandonment, and neglect policy. § 1006.061, Florida Statutes – Child abuse, abandonment, and neglect policy
The 2012 Florida Statutes, Chapter 39, Proceedings Relating to Children 39.201 Mandatory reports of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect; mandatory reports of death; central abuse hotline (Mandated Reporters of child abuse as defined by Florida Statute 39.201) http://www.leg.state.
Case Study 2: All teachers in your school have a laptop to use in their classrooms and for instructional planning at home. When the computer was delivered, you briefly reviewed the district policies during a departmental meeting; however, during the past six months, several teachers have been questioned about their Internet and e-mail use with these laptops. You realize that you must use school property appropriately. Based on the ethics codes and district faculty policies, what should be your plan of action Generated: 12/29/2020 Page 5 of 15
for using the laptop. Use the websites below or review your state and district policies as a basis for developing your plan of action.
Broward County, Florida: Policy 5306 – School and Technology Usage http://www.broward.k12.
Miami Dade County, Florida: Policy 7540.01 – Technology Privacy http://www.neola.com/
Palm Beach County, Florida: Policy 3.29 – Acceptable Use of Technology by Employees http://www.
Case Study 3: As a new high school teacher, you are assigned to teach an intensive reading class in which three students are consistently not showing progress. After reviewing the students’ records (e.g., academic achievement progress in other courses, attendance ,and disciplinary records, intervention plans, and other test scores ,and state standardized test scores) you develop highly effective instructional strategies for meeting these students’ learning needs. Since your instructional approach has proven to be so successful, several teachers approached you with sharing the students’ background information, as well as your instructional strategies. You are concerned about infringing on the students’ privacy rights; consequently, you develop a plan of action to address the teachers’ requests but also address student records concerns Use the websites below or review your state and district policies as a basis for developing your plan of action.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (Florida Department of Health and Human Resources) http://www.doh.
Broward County, Florida http://www.
Student Records: Confidentiality and Family Educational Rights http://www.broward.k 12.fl.us/sbbc policies/docs/P5100.1.000.pdf
Miami Dade 2416 – Student Privacy and Parental Access to Information http://www.neola.
Palm Beach County, Florida Policy 5.50 – Student Records http://www.
1. Reflect on the application of this case study to your school responsibilities. What must you do to avoid this type of professional and ethical conflict in the
2. Identify and describe three additional resources for use by those in your profession who wish to avoid professional and ethical conflicts Ethics
(Examples of additional resources on ethics for Florida educators include the following:
*Discipline against Educator Licenses http://www.
http://www.fldoe.org/
*Investigative Resources http://www.fldoe.
*Office of Professional Practices http://www.fldoe.
Part 3: Based on your analysis of the information found in the Codes of Ethics and on your state’s department of education website(s) related to ethical conduct (e.g., Florida’s Sample Policy on Ethical Conduct of Instructional Personnel and School Administrators (http://www.fldoe.org/core/
* in case study #1, you did not report your suspicions;
* in case study #2, you used your school-issued computer for personal activities; and
* in case study #3, you gave the other teachers personal information about a child not in their classes or on their caseload.
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