Academic Honesty

The District will seek to establish an atmosphere in each classroom that actively fosters academic honesty. It is the belief of the Board of Education of District 113 that academic dishonesty degrades character and reputation and impedes the teaching-learning process. Teachers should be clear in their advocacy of academic honesty by discussing with their students the differences between honest and dishonest work, by employing teaching and testing strategies that reduce the opportunity for dishonesty to the maximum extent possible, and by following consistent procedures when dealing with dishonest behavior. Teachers are available to respond to students’ concerns or questions about instances of academic honesty. The Board of Education enlists the active support of parents/guardians, students and staff to make this policy successful. Written procedures implementing the policy should include responsibilities for each of these constituencies.

In this District, academic dishonesty occurs when a student receives or attempts to receive credit for work that others did, and misrepresents that work as the student’s original work, or when a student helps another student receive or attempts to receive credit for work that student did not do. Teachers will explain what students must do to maintain a standard of academic honesty.

Examples of Academic Dishonesty

Any action intended to obtain or assist in obtaining, credit for work that is not one’s own is considered academic dishonesty. Such conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Submitting another person’s work as one’s own work;

Obtaining or accepting a copy of any assessments, tests, or scoring devices;

Giving test questions or answers to a member of any class, or receiving test questions or answers from a member of any class;

Copying from another student’s test, or allowing another student to copy during a test;

Using materials or devices which are not permitted during a test;

Plagiarizing (presenting as one’s own material copied without  adequate documentation from a published source);

Copying, or having someone other than the student prepare the student’s homework, paper, project, laboratory report, or take-home test for which credit is given;

Permitting another student to copy, or writing another student’s homework, project, report, paper, or take-home test;

Impersonating another student to take a test/quiz or any other assessment, whether electronically or through any other means, and/or changing grades in a grade book;

Unlawful copying of computer software or data created by others;

Misusing any District computer systems, software or hardware; i.e., Google apps or Chromebooks that are used in our school;

Submitting  material  downloaded  from  the  Internet  in  a  manner  that constitutes or furthers fraud (including academic fraud), plagiarism or a violation of copyright or other intellectual property right;

Providing another person a paper or any other material to help that person receive credit for work which is not their own, whether through hard copy or any electronic format, will be in violation of the academic honesty policy;

Cell phones and smart watch devices are to be off and put away at all times during tests and final exams; usage of electronic devices i.e. use of smart watches may be considered a violation of this academic honesty policy;

Utilizing social media or other technology platforms including, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat, Instagram, Google Plus, text messaging and email to  distribute or share homework, quiz or test answers or other materials without express permission from the teacher;

Collaboration on studying or homework is not considered academic dishonesty unless it is prohibited or limited by procedures established by the teacher.

Policy Implementation

The following shall apply in dealing with an act of academic dishonesty.  For  incidents of academic dishonesty the students’ parents/guardians will be notified by the classroom teacher of the academic content area in which the infraction occurred.  Students should be confronted about their alleged dishonesty in a caring and confidential manner.  Additionally, academic dishonesty is a violation of the extra-curricular code for athletics and activities. Such violations may impact participation in extracurricular activities, including but not limited to Honor Society, leadership roles and other clubs sponsored through District 113.

1. Any act of academic dishonesty that occurs will be reported to the Deans' Office in the form of a referral and may be for documentation only.
2. The teacher may assign a grade penalty which could include a zero for the work in question. A violation may result in disciplinary action including, but not limited to, detention(s), Saturday detention(s), suspension and expulsion.
3. Students with repeat violations may be assigned an additional consequence through the Deans' Office which may include any of the forms of discipline mentioned in the paragraph above. In these instances, a team of staff, including but not limited to Deans, Counselors, Case Managers, and Directors of Athletics and Activities, may collaborate on a plan.

The school staff will work with students who have academic honesty violations to help the student avoid any more problems in this sensitive area.