| Malpractice is a growing professional concern for school psychology, given the existence of litigation that has begun to address this issue, particularly in recent years (Brosnan v Livonia, 1983; Doe v Board of Education of Montgomery County, 1982; Hoffman v Board of Education of the City of New York, 1979). While no malpractice suit against a school psychologist has been successful, many of the cases have experienced success at early stages of judicial analysis. In addition, the obstacles that have prevented successful suits, such as immunity, the lack of a professional standard of care, and reliance on educational malpractice precedents, are not invulnerable and are likely to be addressed by future litigation.;School psychologists must become aware of the malpractice litigation that has occurred within the profession, and use this information to evaluate their own practices. The literature in school psychology has failed to adequately address the issue of malpractice. The present research study was designed to address this gap in research. Individual interviews were conducted with 27 Indiana school psychologists employed by school districts from across the state. During the interviews, the school psychologists identified negligent practices that occurred in performing their job responsibilities, as well as their knowlege of malpractice and legal issues affecting school psychology.;Data analysis resulted in three prominent categories of issues: legal guidelines, confidentiality, and professional issues. Of the numerous practices included in each category, some were determined to have a high risk for future malpractice litigation. Level of risk was evaluated by analyzing the psychologists' perspectives, legal precedents, and pertinent legal and ethical guidelines. Identified high risk practices were: professional competency and misdiagnosis, parent access to test protocols, parent and child rights to confidentiality, and guidelines of PL94-142 (i.e., comprehensive assessment, pressure to place inappropriate labels, limited program options). In sum, school psychologists' incomplete knowledge of malpractice and associated legal issues affecting the profession, combined with the prominence of negligent practices that could lead to malpractice litigation creates a deficit in professional knowledge that must be addressed. |
