Lesson 6 of 9 · About 4 minutes
Your profession’s standards
What ASCA, NASP, NASN, SSWAA and other bodies expect, and why digital harm is a team job.
Beyond the law, each of us answers to our own profession. Those standards point the same way: keep students safe online, and work as a team.
Your profession
What your profession expects
Choose your role to see what your profession’s standards say.
| Who on your team | Professional body | What it expects |
|---|---|---|
| School counselors | ASCA, American School Counselor Association | Every student has a right to a safe school, in person and on digital platforms (Ethical Standards, 2022). Counselors lead schoolwide cyberbullying prevention and respond to online threats or self-harm with a team, telling parents and administrators when a student is at serious and foreseeable risk (digital safety statement, 2023). |
| Counselors (all settings) | ACA, American Counseling Association | Code of Ethics (2014), Section H: understand the laws on technology, keep personal and professional social media separate, and don’t view a client’s social media without consent. |
| Nationally certified counselors | NBCC, National Board for Certified Counselors | Code of Ethics (2023): keep a written social media policy, keep personal and professional accounts apart, warn clients about the risks of digital messages, and don’t connect with or follow clients online. |
| School psychologists | NASP, National Association of School Psychologists | Cyberbullying is a public health issue. Some bullying is also discrimination under federal civil rights laws (Title VI, Title IX, Section 504, the ADA). Start prevention early, schoolwide, and teach bystanders how to help. |
| Psychologists | APA, American Psychological Association | Health advisory on social media (2023): limit teens’ exposure to cyberbullying, online hate and harmful content, and teach social media literacy before they start using it. A 2025 advisory adds AI literacy. |
| School nurses | NASN, National Association of School Nurses | Students’ health and learning depend on protection from bullying and cyberbullying (2025). Nurses help with prevention training and school policy, and with bystander support. |
| School social workers | SSWAA, School Social Work Association of America | Every child has a right to learn in a safe, supportive school. School social workers tackle bullying with the school leadership team and work with both the students who are targeted and the students who bully. |
| Social workers | NASW and CSWE | Standards for Technology in Social Work Practice (2017): professional boundaries online, social media policies, personal devices, and teaching students about technology. |
| Pediatricians and families | AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics | Policy statement Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents (2026): most platforms are designed for engagement, not children’s well-being. Its Center of Excellence offers free resources on cyberbullying. |
| Counselor education programs | CACREP, the accreditor | The 2024 standards don’t name cyberbullying. Programs teach it under crisis plans (5.H.9), screening for risk (5.H.12), trauma-informed school counseling (5.H.14) and technology (3.E.5). |
| Counselor educators | ACES, Association for Counselor Education and Supervision | Technology competencies for counseling students and guidelines for online learning in counselor education (2017). |
Remember
- Every profession on the team has a duty here, from counselors to nurses.
- Respond to threats and self-harm as a team, and tell parents and administrators when a student is at serious risk.