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CEC Ethics and Practice
Standards
CEC
Code of Ethics for Educators of Persons with Exceptionalities
We declare the following
principles to be the Code of Ethics for educators of persons with
exceptionalities. Members of the special education profession are
responsible for upholding and advancing these principles. Members of the
Council for Exceptional Children agree to judge and be judged by them in
accordance with the spirit and provisions of this Code.
A. Special education professionals are committed to developing the
highest educational and quality of life potential of individuals with
exceptionalities.
B. Special education professionals promote and maintain a high level of
competence and integrity in practicing their profession.
C. Special education professionals engage in professional activities
which benefit individuals with exceptionalities, their families, other
colleagues, students, or research subjects.
D. Special education professionals exercise objective professional
judgment in the practice of their profession.
E. Special education professionals strive to advance their knowledge and
skills regarding the education of individuals with exceptionalities.
F. Special education professionals work within the standards and
policies of their profession.
G. Special education professionals seek to uphold and improve where
necessary the laws, regulations, and policies governing the delivery of
special education and related services and the practice of their
profession.
H. Special education professionals do not condone or participate in
unethical or illegal acts, nor violate professional standards adopted by
the Delegate Assembly of CEC.
CEC Standards for Professional
Practice
Professionals in Relation
to Persons with Exceptionalities and Their Families
Instructional Responsibilities
Special education personnel are committed to the application of
professional expertise to ensure the provision of quality education for
all individuals with exceptionalities. Professionals strive to:
(1) Identify and use instructional methods and curricula
that are appropriate to their area of professional practice and
effective in meeting the individual needs of persons with
exceptionalities.
(2) Participate in the selection and use of appropriate instructional
materials, equipment, supplies, and other resources needed in the
effective practice of their profession.
(3) Create safe and effective learning environments, which contribute to
fulfillment of needs, stimulation of learning, and self-concept.
(4) Maintain class size and caseloads that are conducive to meeting the
individual instructional needs of individuals with exceptionalities.
(5) Use assessment instruments and procedures that do not discriminate
against persons with exceptionalities on the basis of race, color,
creed, sex, national origin, age, political practices, family or social
background, sexual orientation, or exceptionality.
(6) Base grading, promotion, graduation, and/or movement out of the
program on the individual goals and objectives for individuals with
exceptionalities.
(7) Provide accurate program data to administrators, colleagues, and
parents, based on efficient and objective record keeping practices, for
the purpose of decision making.
(8) Maintain confidentiality of information except when information is
released under specific conditions of written consent and statutory
confidentiality requirements.
Management of Behavior
Special education professionals participate with other
professionals and with parents in an interdisciplinary effort in the
management of behavior. Professionals:
(1) Apply only those disciplinary methods and behavioral
procedures, which they have been instructed to use, and which do not
undermine the dignity of the individual or the basic human rights of
persons with exceptionalities, such as corporal punishment.
(2) Clearly specify the goals and objectives for behavior management
practices in the persons’ with exceptionalities individualized
education program.
(3) Conform to policies, statutes, and rules established by
state/provincial and local agencies relating to judicious application of
disciplinary methods and behavioral procedures.
(4) Take adequate measures to discourage, prevent, and intervene when a
colleague’s behavior is perceived as being detrimental to
exceptional students.
(5) Refrain from aversive techniques unless repeated trials of other
methods have failed and only after consultation with parents and
appropriate agency officials.
Support Procedures
Professionals:
(1) Seek adequate instruction and supervision before they
are required to perform support services for which they have not been
prepared previously.
(2) May administer medication, where state/provincial policies do not
preclude such action, if qualified to do so or if written instructions
are on file which state the purpose of the medication, the conditions
under which it may be administered, possible side effects, the
physician’s name and phone number, and the professional liability
if a mistake is made. The professional will not be required to
administer medication.
(3) Note and report to those concerned whenever changes in behavior
occur in conjunction with the administration of medication or at any
other time.
Parent Relationships
Professionals seek to develop relationships with parents based on mutual
respect for their roles in achieving benefits for the exceptional
person. Special education professionals:
(1) Develop effective communication with parents, avoiding
technical terminology, using the primary language of the home, and other
modes of communication when appropriate.
(2) Seek and use parents’ knowledge and expertise in planning,
conducting, and evaluating special education and related services for
persons with exceptionalities.
(3) Maintain communications between parents and professionals with
appropriate respect for privacy and confidentiality.
(4) Extend opportunities for parent education utilizing accurate
information and professional methods.
(5) Inform parents of the educational rights of their children and of
any proposed or actual practices, which violate those rights.
(6) Recognize and respect cultural diversities which exist in some
families with persons with exceptionalities.
(7) Recognize that the relationship of home and community environmental
conditions affects the behavior and outlook of the exceptional
person.
Advocacy
Special education professionals serve as advocates for
exceptional students by speaking, writing, and acting in a variety of
situations on their behalf. They:
(1) Continually seek to improve government provisions for
the education of persons with exceptionalities while ensuring that
public statements by professionals as individuals are not construed to
represent official policy statements of the agency that employs
them.
(2) Work cooperatively with and encourage other professionals to improve
the provision of special education and related services to persons with
exceptionalities.
(3) Document and objectively report to one’s supervisors or
administrators inadequacies in resources and promote appropriate
corrective action.
(4) Monitor for inappropriate placements in special education and
intervene at appropriate levels to correct the condition when such
inappropriate placements exist.
(5) Follow local, state/provincial, and federal laws and regulations
which mandate a free appropriate public education to exceptional
students and the protection of the rights of persons with
exceptionalities to equal opportunities in our society.
Professionals in Relation to
Employment
Certification and Qualification
Professionals ensure that only persons deemed qualified by having met
state/provincial minimum standards are employed as teachers,
administrators, and related service providers for individuals with
exceptionalities.
Employment
(1) Professionals do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of
race, color, creed, sex, national origin, age, political practices,
family or social background, sexual orientation, or exceptionality.
(2) Professionals represent themselves in an ethical and legal manner in
regard to their training and experience when seeking new employment.
(3) Professionals give notice consistent with local education agency
policies when intending to leave employment.
(4) Professionals adhere to the conditions of a contract or terms of an
appointment in the setting where they practice.
(5) Professionals released from employment are entitled to a written
explanation of the reasons for termination and to fair and impartial due
process procedures.
(6) Special education professionals share equitably the opportunities
and benefits (salary, working conditions, facilities, and other
resources) of other professionals in the school system.
(7) Professionals seek assistance, including the services of other
professionals, in instances where personal problems threaten to
interfere with their job performance.
(8) Professionals respond objectively when requested to evaluate
applicants seeking employment.
(9) Professionals have the right and responsibility to resolve
professional problems by utilizing established procedures, including
grievance procedures, when appropriate.
Assignment and Role
(1) Professionals should receive clear written communication of all
duties and responsibilities, including those which are prescribed as
conditions of their employment.
(2) Professionals promote educational quality and intra- and
interprofessional cooperation through active participation in the
planning, policy development, management, and evaluation of the special
education program and the education program at large so that programs
remain responsive to the changing needs of persons with
exceptionalities.
(3) Professionals practice only in areas of exceptionality, at age
levels, and in program models for which they are prepared by their
training and/or experience.
(4) Adequate supervision of and support for special education
professionals is provided by other professionals qualified by their
training and experience in the area of concern.
(5) The administration and supervision of special education
professionals provides for clear lines of accountability.
(6) The unavailability of substitute teachers or support personnel,
including aides, does not result in the denial of special education
services to a greater degree than to that of other educational
programs.
Professional Development
(1) Special education professionals systematically advance
their knowledge and skills in order to maintain a high level of
competence and response to the changing needs of persons with
exceptionalities by pursuing a program of continuing education including
but not limited to participation in such activities as inservice
training, professional conferences/workshops, professional meetings,
continuing education courses, and the reading of professional
literature.
(2) Professionals participate in the objective and systematic evaluation
of themselves, colleagues, services, and programs for the purpose of
continuous improvement of professional performance.
(3) Professionals in administrative positions support and facilitate
professional development.
Professionals in Relation to the
Profession and to Other Professionals
The Profession
(1) Special education professionals assume responsibility for
participating in professional organizations and adherence to the
standards and codes of ethics of those organizations.
(2) Special education professionals have a responsibility to provide
varied and exemplary supervised field experiences for persons in
undergraduate and graduate preparation programs.
(3) Special education professionals refrain from using professional
relationships with students and parents for personal advantage.
(4) Special education professionals take an active position in the
regulation of the profession through use of appropriate procedures for
bringing about changes.
(5) Special education professionals initiate, support, and/or
participate in research related to the education of persons with
exceptionalities with the aim of improving the quality of educational
services, increasing the accountability of programs, and generally
benefiting persons with exceptionalities.
They:
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Adopt procedures that protect the rights and welfare of subjects
participating in the research.
-
Interpret and publish research results with accuracy and a high
quality of scholarship.
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Support a cessation of the use of any research procedure that may
result in undesirable consequences for the participant.
-
Exercise all possible precautions to prevent misapplication or
misutilization of a research effort, by self or others.
Other Professionals
Special education professionals function as members of
interdisciplinary teams, and the reputation of the profession resides
with them. They:
(1) Recognize and acknowledge the competencies and
expertise of members representing other disciplines as well as those of
members in their own disciplines.
(2) Strive to develop positive attitudes among other professionals
toward persons with exceptionalities, representing them with an
objective regard for their possibilities and their limitations as
persons in a democratic society.
(3) Cooperate with other agencies involved in serving persons with
exceptionalities through such activities as the planning and
coordination of information exchanges, service delivery, evaluation, and
training, so that duplication or loss in quality of services may not
occur.
(4) Provide consultation and assistance, where appropriate, to both
general and special educators as well as other school personnel serving
persons with exceptionalities.
(5) Provide consultation and assistance, where appropriate, to
professionals in nonschool settings serving persons with
exceptionalities.
(6) Maintain effective interpersonal relations with colleagues and other
professionals, helping them to develop and maintain positive and
accurate perceptions about the special education profession.
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