Custodial Conundrum

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Type: Article

Topics: Ethics, School Administrator Magazine

November 01, 2025

Appears in November 2025: School Administrator

Ethical Educator

An illustration of a grandmother trying to peek through a keyhole in a door Scenario: The grandmother of a high school student wants to communicate with the girl鈥檚 guidance counselor and the school psychologist about the granddaughter鈥檚 mental health and substance abuse issues. The girl鈥檚 divorced parents are uninvolved in her school affairs, though the girl, 17, lives with her mother. The grandmother tells the counselor that her granddaughter has seen a psychiatrist once or twice but the girl is not responsible about taking her meds properly or using birth control. The school staff aren鈥檛 sure they ought to be in regular communication with the grandmother or act on the information she is sharing with them. They seek advice from the district鈥檚 pupil services director.

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The Ethical Educator panel consists of

Sheldon H. Berman, author of Implementing Social-Emotional Learning: Insights from School Districts鈥� Successes and Setbacks.
Susan Enfield, executive director, University of Washington鈥檚 Center for Educational Leadership, Seattle, Wash.
Arthur Schwartz, president, ; and
Maria G. Ott, Irving R. and Virginia A. Melbo chair in education administration, University of Southern California.

Each month, School Administrator draws on actual circumstances to raise an ethical decision-making dilemma in K-12 education. Our distinguished panelists provide their own resolutions to each dilemma.

Do you have a suggestion for a dilemma to be considered?
Send it to: magazine@aasa.org

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