SLLA Ethical Leadership and Integrity 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A school leader uses personal social media to make disparaging comments about a difficult parent. This behavior PRIMARILY violates:
- Freedom of speech protections
- Professional ethics requiring respectful community relations (Correct answer)
- School board social media policy only
- FERPA regulations
Correct answer: Professional ethics requiring respectful community relations
School leaders are held to professional ethical standards in all public conduct, including social media, which requires respectful treatment of all community members.
Question 2: The ethical principle of 'beneficence' applied to school leadership means:
- Distributing benefits equally to all staff
- Actively working to promote the well-being and growth of students and staff (Correct answer)
- Providing financial benefits to underfunded schools
- Avoiding harm as the primary goal of all decisions
Correct answer: Actively working to promote the well-being and growth of students and staff
Beneficence goes beyond avoiding harm—it requires leaders to actively promote good outcomes for all members of the school community.
Question 3: A principal is pressured by the superintendent to misrepresent test score data in a state report. The ethical response is to:
- Comply to protect their employment
- Refuse and document the pressure, escalating to the school board or state agency if needed (Correct answer)
- Submit the report with a disclaimer note
- Delay submitting the report indefinitely
Correct answer: Refuse and document the pressure, escalating to the school board or state agency if needed
Leaders have an ethical and often legal obligation to report accurate data; falsifying official reports is both an ethical violation and potential legal infraction.
Question 4: Which scenario represents a conflict of interest that a school principal MUST disclose?
- Preferring one curriculum vendor over another based on research
- Serving on the board of a company bidding for a school contract (Correct answer)
- Having a child enrolled in the school they lead
- Disagreeing with a district policy on discipline
Correct answer: Serving on the board of a company bidding for a school contract
A financial relationship with a vendor bidding for a school contract is a direct conflict of interest that must be disclosed and recused from.
Question 5: A teacher reports to the principal that another teacher made a racially insensitive comment to a student. Under ethical leadership, the principal should FIRST:
- Wait to see if more complaints arise before acting
- Immediately dismiss the accused teacher
- Take the report seriously, investigate promptly, and ensure the reporting teacher is protected from retaliation (Correct answer)
- Advise the reporting teacher to resolve it personally with the other teacher
Correct answer: Take the report seriously, investigate promptly, and ensure the reporting teacher is protected from retaliation
Ethical leaders treat all reports of misconduct seriously, act promptly, and protect whistleblowers from retaliation as part of maintaining a just environment.
Question 6: The ethical concept of 'stewardship' in educational leadership BEST refers to:
- Managing the school's physical facilities and budget
- Being entrusted with the resources, well-being, and future of students and the community (Correct answer)
- Delegating tasks to reduce leadership burden
- Maintaining compliance with state and federal regulations
Correct answer: Being entrusted with the resources, well-being, and future of students and the community
Stewardship means holding one's role as a trust—caring for students, staff, and community resources as a responsibility for the greater good, not personal gain.
Question 7: When developing a school ethics policy, which approach BEST reflects PSEL ethical standards?
- Adopting a pre-made policy from another district without modification
- Collaboratively developing the policy with diverse stakeholders and grounding it in students' best interests (Correct answer)
- Having only the administrative team draft the policy for efficiency
- Focusing the policy primarily on legal compliance requirements
Correct answer: Collaboratively developing the policy with diverse stakeholders and grounding it in students' best interests
PSEL standards call for inclusive, collaborative policy development that centers student welfare and reflects the values of the whole school community.
SLLA Ethical Leadership and Integrity 4
A school leader uses personal social media to make disparaging comments about a difficult parent.
This behavior PRIMARILY violates: