Absolutely not true. There should be no expectation of confidentiality with any school employee. Further the duty to report suspected abuse, neglect, or potential harm to the child extends far beyond whether a crime has been committed. The failure to report applies to all professionals in this state (and all other states to a greater or lesser degree) including but not limited to an attorney, a member of the clergy, a medical practitioner, a social worker, or a mental health professional.Jusme wrote:... Anything said to counselors is presumed to be confidential, ... The exception being if a crime has been committed
The sad reality is that students in public schools have extremely attenuated rights as the school is placed in the role of the parent while the child is in class, and that leads to such a knee jerk reaction to over-report everything because the failure to report can have serious consequences attached including the loss of your livelihood. The school may have over reached (and I think they did), but the judge refused to act until a full hearing of all the evidence could be heard. Good for him, because too often the courts rubber stamp what school officials do. If they school over reacted they should be brought to task for that, but I wouldn't hold my breath for that happening anytime soon.