ASHA members who work with children will likely face ethical challenges related to service delivery, interprofessional relationships, or their general well-being. The latest forum in Perspectives presents a number of resources on ethics and school-based issues. Learn more about this forum from Guest Editor Lissa Power-deFur below!

Ethics and School-Based Issues

In the introduction, Power-deFur outlines a seven-step ethical decision-making approach that you can use when facing a dilemma. She uses a fictional scenario to walk through each step of the process, applying it to the sample case.

Harbick looks at the complexity of home-based service delivery, showing how relational ethics help you listen, connect, and grow alongside the families you work with. Next, West provides ethical guidance for school-based SLPs who support children who face feeding and swallowing challenges.

Smith and Frutos show that ethical language assessments are necessary to ensure that students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds have equal opportunities in school. Finally, Tullos discusses a mindfulness approach to ethics training that clinicians can incorporate into all clinical activities.

Using This Framework in Your Daily Work

Dr. Power-deFur emphasizes the importance of gathering and weighing information to resolve ethical issues in schools. Doing so can help you select an approach that can resolve the situation, minimize unintended consequences, and ensure that the situation doesn’t happen again (Power-deFur, 2026, p. 641).

We thank Dr. Power-deFur and all the authors who contributed to this forum. We hope that these resources and examples can support you in navigating moral, ethical, and interpersonal challenges in your job!

Explore the Forum

Harbick, S. H. (2026). A relational ethics approach to engagement in early intervention: Integrating trust, context, and clinical standards. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(3), 649–656. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_PERSP-25-00262

Power-deFur, L. (2026). Thoughtfully resolving ethical dilemmas in school settings. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(3), 641–648. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_PERSP-25-00269

Smith, J. C., & Frutos, G. (2026). Ethical language assessment in culturally and linguistically diverse contexts: A guide for school-based speech-language pathologists. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(3), 672–694. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_PERSP-25-00265

Tullos, D. C. (2026). The importance of mindfulness when approaching challenging ethical issues. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(3), 695–699. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_PERSP-25-00272

West, K. M. (2026). Ethical decision making in school-based feeding and swallowing services. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 11(3), 657–671. https://doi.org/10.1044/2026_PERSP-25-00270