Abstract: | This article provides an overview of legal issues and problems salient to school counselors who provide direct services to students or indirect services through consultation. Among legal issues addressed are privacy, confidentiality, and privilege—conceptually distinct topics that in practice often overlap. Also covered are legal duties pertaining to handling student records, conducting research projects, reporting child abuse, and testing and placing students. Among the legal liabilities discussed are those arising from contract, tort, and criminal law and from violations of federal constitutional and statutory rights. |