ASHA-IIE-STUDENT-SERVICES — ASHA Issues in Ethics: Clinical Services Provided by Students (2025)
What does ASHA-IIE-STUDENT-SERVICES say?
Clinical services provided by students raise specific ethical considerations. Key guidance: (1) Supervisors/clinical educators retain ultimate responsibility for all services provided by students. (2) Clients must be informed that they are receiving services from a student and must consent. (3) Students must be identified as students — misrepresenting a student as a licensed professional violates the Code. (4) The supervisor must be present and available to intervene when student competence is in question. (5) Assignment of clinical tasks must match the student's skill level and training. (6) Supervisor-to-student ratios must allow for adequate oversight of all clients served. (7) When students deliver services via telepractice, the same supervision standards apply. (8) Student clinicians are not "free labor" — their clinical experiences must be educationally valuable, not merely service delivery. (9) When a client or family requests a different clinician, that preference should be respected when possible. (10) Grading and evaluation of students must be fair, honest, and based on clinical performance criteria. Relevant Code sections: Principle I Rules A, B (client welfare, competent services); Principle II Rules A, G (competence, adequate supervision); Principle III Rule A (honesty); Principle IV Rules A, H (professional relationships, adequate supervision).
Official source: read the full text in the ASHA Code of Ethics (2023) (official document).