Fulfilling Professional Roles and Responsibilities
Professional and legal obligations
Domain IV tests judgment about adults: families, colleagues, administrators, and the law. Know the Texas Educator Code of Ethics in spirit - the educator's primary duty is to students, and conduct must protect their welfare, confidentiality, and dignity. FERPA limits sharing education records; only those with legitimate educational interest may see them. Texas law requires educators to report suspected child abuse or neglect, generally within 48 hours.
Collaboration and families
Strong answers treat families as partners: regular two-way communication, conferences that include student work and specific next steps, interpreters for families who need them, and sensitivity to cultural and economic differences. Collaboration includes general education teachers, special educators, counselors, LPAC members for English learners, and ARD committees.
Professional growth
Reflective practice, action research, professional learning communities, mentoring, and targeted professional development based on student data all count as professional growth. Avoid "I'll just keep doing what I've always done."
Traps
Do not promise a student you will keep an abuse disclosure secret. Do not discuss a student's grades or behavior in the lounge, on social media, or with other parents. Do not contact a family only when there is a problem. Do not make IEP decisions unilaterally or bypass the committee process.
Worked example
A student tells you a parent hit them last night and asks you not to tell. Correct response: acknowledge the student's feelings, explain that you must tell someone who can help, and report to your administrator or the appropriate state agency immediately. Confidentiality does not extend to a promise that conflicts with a child's safety.