High School Academic Misconduct Attorney Advisor - Nebraska

It's happened: Your Nebraska high school student currently stands accused of academic misconduct, and you're really not sure what happened (or what to do next). Plagiarism, cheating, unauthorized collaboration, all seem like terms you vaguely remember from your student's high school orientation, but they certainly weren't activities that you were expecting to experience during your student's academic career.

Now, you're getting invitations to meetings and tersely-worded notifications about punishments from your child's school. There's a lot happening all at once, and your child is likely confused and worried about their future. Is there anything that you can do to protect them so that they don't face long-term consequences for their past actions?

Fortunately, there is. If you hire a smart, skilled, and experienced legal advisor to help you fight for your child's rights, you can ensure that your child's future remains bright. Nebraska high schools can take academic misconduct very seriously. Team up with a knowledgeable legal team today to give your child the best possible chance of a successful outcome.

What Actions Qualify as NE High School Academic Misconduct?

A recent survey by the Educational Testing Service shows that “cheating among high school students has increased dramatically in the past 70 years.” Even though you may hope that your student and their peers won't be among the rising number of students looking for an easy way to boost their academic performance, you have to consider the realities of their situation.

The pressure to perform well in high school academia has never been higher, with scholarships and more seemingly always on the line. Under such overwhelming pressure, students often look for ways to increase their likelihood of success. Cheating, plagiarism, and unauthorized collaboration may seem like attractive ways for students to do so - at least, until they are caught.

As these three actions directly conflict with a school's mission to fairly educate students, most schools consider plagiarism, cheating, and similar instances of academic misconduct to be quite serious. You can check your school's specific definition of academic misconduct in your high school's code of conduct, a document typically available on your school's website.

According to one Nebraska high school’s code of conduct, falsification of data and alteration of feedback also constitute academic misconduct. Other schools may include classroom disruption and abuse of school materials in that definition.

While your student's school code of conduct may be a dense document, it's important to read it thoroughly. In addition to your school-specific definition of misconduct, it will also contain information about what's to come.

What Happens After an Allegation of Academic Misconduct in Nebraska High Schools?

Once your student finds out that they stand accused of academic misconduct, their school may take action very quickly. Typically, the processes that a school follows will depend on the severity of the alleged infraction. For example, if your student was disruptive in class, your student's teacher may simply give them detention. But if the teacher perceives this behavior as a pattern, the consequences can escalate rapidly.

On the other hand, if your Nebraska high school student finds out that your student has plagiarized or cheated in a recurring, pervasive manner, your school may launch an investigation followed by a formal hearing. In either case, the moment that your student stands accused of academic misconduct, you need to act quickly - and carefully.

As your school collects evidence (including past assignments, statements from your student's peers, your student, teachers, and other types of information), you need to be aware that your school may use everything possible to show that your child is guilty. They may also fail to follow their own stated due process, steamroll over your student's rights, and make it very difficult for you to protect your child during their investigative and disciplinary procedures.

You need to make sure that your school follows its own rules. To truly hold your school accountable, hire a skilled legal advisor during your child's academic misconduct procedures.

NE High Schools and the Penalties for Academic Misconduct

If you're wondering what consequences your child might face as a result of their alleged infractions, it's a good idea to consult your school's code of conduct. The potential punishments may be specific to your school. Common punishments include probation, detention, education about the alleged infraction (e.g., attendance at a required seminar on plagiarism), failing grades, or even suspension and expulsion in particularly severe cases.

Even if it doesn't seem that the punitive measures are that consequential, it's important to remember that this is serious. In many cases, the worst ramifications of your child's actions may not kick in until years after the event: For example, if your child has academic misconduct on their permanent record, future scholarship committees, college admissions boards, or even future employers may be reticent to offer your student opportunities they gladly would have otherwise.

You need to take action now to make sure that your child's alleged actions don't unduly impact their future. Working with an expert legal team will be the best thing that you can do for your student.

Joseph D. Lento is Ready to Help You and Your Family

If this is your first time navigating your Nebraska high school's disciplinary system, you might experience a lot of confusion and frustration. It might seem like, suddenly, it's you against your school. It might seem like there's no one on your side.

Fortunately, that isn't the case. At the Lento Law Firm, we're ready to help you fight for your child's rights as you work to protect their future. Joseph D. Lento has years of experience supporting students throughout high school due process, misconduct investigations, adjudicative hearings, and more. With his extensive experience nationwide building successful cases for student defense, Joseph D. Lento will guide your family to a favorable outcome.

Don't make this stressful time for you and your student even more overwhelming by tackling every aspect of your defense yourself. Instead, rely on an empathetic expert for the assistance you need.

To learn more about student defense in Nebraska, contact the Lento Law Firm online or call 888-535-3686 today.

Nebraska high schools where Joseph D. Lento can help as your child's student's academic misconduct advisor during investigations, hearings and appeals include, but are not limited to, the following school districts:

A

• Adams Central Jr-Sr High School
• Ainsworth Community Schools
• Allen Consolidated Schools
• Alliance Public Schools
• Alma Public Schools
• Amherst Public Schools
• Anselmo-Merna Public Schools
• Ansley Public Schools
• Arapahoe Public Schools
• Arcadia Public Schools
• Arlington Public Schools
• Arnold Public Schools
• Arthur County High School
• Ashland-Greenwood Schools
• Auburn Public Schools
• Aurora Public Schools
• Axtell Public Schools

B

• Bancroft-Rosalie Community Schools
• Banner County Public Schools
• Battle Creek Public Schools
• Bayard Public Schools
• Beatrice Public Schools
• Bellevue Public Schools
• Bennington Public Schools
• Bertrand Public Schools
• Blair Community Schools
• Bloomfield Community Schools
• Blue Hill Public Schools
• Boone Central Schools
• Boyd County Unified
• Brady Public Schools
• Bridgeport Public Schools
• Broken Bow Public Schools
• Bruning Public Schools
• Bruning-Davenport Unified System
• Burwell Jr-Sr High School
• Butte Public Schools

C

• Callaway Public Schools
• Cambridge Public Schools
• Cedar Bluffs Public Schools
• Cedar Rapids Public Schools
• Centennial Public Schools
• Central City Public Schools
• Centura Public School
• Chadron Public Schools
• Chambers Public Schools
• Chase County Schools
• Clarkson Public Schools
• Clay Center Public Schools
• Clearwater Public Schools
• Clearwater Public Schools
• Cody-Kilgore Public Schools
• Coleridge Community Schools
• Columbus Public Schools
• Conestoga Public Schools
• Cozad City Schools
• Crawford Public Schools
• Creek Valley Schools
• Creighton Public Schools
• Crete Public Schools
• Crofton Community Schools
• Cross County Community Schools
• Culbertson Public Schools

D

• Daniel Freeman Public Schools
• Davenport Public Schools
• David City Public Schools
• Deshler Public Schools
• Diller-Odell Public Schools
• District 070
• Dodge Public Schools
• Doniphan-Trumbull Public Schools
• Dorchester Public Schools
• Douglas County West Community School
• Dundy County Public Schools

E

• East Butler Public Schools
• Elba Public Schools
• Elgin Public Schools
• Elkhorn Public Schools
• Elkhorn Valley Schools
• Elm Creek Public Schools
• Elmwood-Murdock Public Schools
• Elwood Public Schools
• Emerson-Hubbard Public Schools
• Eustis-Farnam Public Schools
• Ewing Public Schools
• Exeter-Milligan Public Schools

F

• Fairbury Public Schools
• Falls City Public Schools
• Fillmore Central Public Schools
• Fort Calhoun Community Schools
• Franklin Public Schools
• Fremont Public Schools
• Friend Public Schools
• Fullerton Public Schools

G

• Garden County High School
• Geneva North School
• Gering Public Schools
• Gibbon Public Schools
• Giltner Public Schools
• Gordon-Rushville High School
• Gothenburg Public Schools
• Grand Island Public Schools
• Greeley-Wolbach Public Schools
• Gretna Public Schools

H

• Hampton Public Schools
• Hartington Public Schools
• Harvard Public Schools
• Hastings Public Schools
• Hay Springs Public Schools
• Hayes Center Public Schools
• Heartland Community Schools
• Hemingford Public Schools
• Hershey Public Schools
• High Plains Community Schools
• Hitchcock County Unified School System
• Holdrege Public Schools
• Homer Community Schools
• Howells Public Schools
• Humphrey Public Schools
• Hyannis High School

J

• Johnson-Brock Public Schools

K

• Kearney Public Schools
• Kearney West High School
• Kenesaw Public Schools
• Keya Paha County High School
• Kimball Public Schools

L

• Lakeview Community Schools
• Laurel-Concord Public Schools
• Lawrence-Nelson Public Schools
• Leigh Community Schools
• Lewiston Consolidated Schools
• Lexington Public Schools
• Leyton Public Schools
• Lincoln Public Schools
• Litchfield Public Schools
• Logan View Public Schools
• Loomis Public Schools
• Louisville Public Schools
• Loup City Public Schools
• Loup County Public Schools
• Lynch Public Schools
• Lyons-Decatur Northeast Schools

M

• Madison Public Schools
• Malcolm Public Schools
• Maxwell Public Schools
• Maywood Public Schools
• McCook Public Schools
• McCool Junction Public Schools
• McPherson County High School
• Mead Public Schools
• Medicine Valley Public Schools
• Meridian Public Schools
• Milford Public Schools
• Millard Public Schools
• Minatare Public Schools
• Minden Public Schools
• Mitchell Public Schools
• Morrill Public Schools
• Mullen Public Schools

N

• Nebraska City Public Schools
• Neligh-Oakdale Schools
• Nemaha Valley Public Schools
• Nemaha Valley Schools
• Newcastle Public Schools
• Newman Grove Public Schools
• Niobrara Public Schools
• Norfolk Public Schools
• Norris School District 160
• North Bend Central Schools
• North Loup-Scotia Public Schools
• North Platte Public Schools
• Northwest High School

O

• Oakland-Craig Public Schools
• Ogallala Public Schools
• Omaha Public Schools
• O'Neill Public Schools
• Orchard Public Schools
• Ord Public Schools
• Osceola Public Schools
• Osmond Public Schools
• Overton Public Schools

P

• Palmer Public Schools
• Palmyra District O R 1
• Papillion-La Vista Public Schools
• Pawnee City Public Schools
• Paxton Consolidated Schools
• Pender Public Schools
• Perkins County Schools
• Pierce Public Schools
• Pine Ridge Job Corps
• Plainview Public Schools
• Plattsmouth Community Schools
• Pleasanton Public Schools
• Ponca Public Schools
• Potter-Dix Public Schools
• Prague Public Schools

R

• Ralston Public Schools
• Randolph Public Schools
• Ravenna Public Schools
• Raymond Central Schools
• Red Cloud Community Schools
• Richland Public School
• Rising City Public Schools
• Rock County High School

S

• Sandhills Public Schools
• Sandy Creek Public Schools
• Santee Community Schools
• Sargent Public Schools
• Schuyler Central High School
• Scottsbluff Public Schools
• Scribner-Snyder Community Schools
• Seward Public Schools
• Shelby Public Schools
• Shelton Public Schools
• Shickley Public Schools
• Sidney Public Schools
• Silver Lake Public Schools
• Sioux County High School
• South Central Nebraska Unified System 5
• South Platte Public Schools
• South Sarpy District 48
• South Sioux City Community Schools
• Southeast Nebraska Consolidated Schools
• Southern School District 1
• Southern Valley Schools
• Southwest Public Schools
• Spalding Public Schools
• Spencer-Naper Public Schools
• St. Edward Public Schools
• St. Paul Public Schools
• Stanton Community Schools
• Stapleton Public Schools
• Sterling Public Schools
• Stratton Public Schools
• Stuart Public Schools
• Sumner-Eddyville-Miller Schools
• Superior Public Schools
• Sutherland Public Schools
• Sutton Public Schools
• Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca Schools

T

• Tecumseh Public Schools
• Tekamah-Herman Community Schools
• Thayer Central Community Schools
• Thedford Rural High School
• Trenton Public Schools
• Tri-County Public Schools
• Twin River Public Schools

U

• Umo N Ho N Nation Public Schools

V

• Valentine Rural High School
• Verdigre Public Schools

W

• Wahoo Public Schools
• Wakefield Public Schools
• Wallace Public School District 65 R
• Walthill Public Schools
• Wauneta-Palisade Public Schools
• Wausa Public Schools
• Waverly School District 145
• Wayne Community Schools
• Weeping Water Public Schools
• West Holt Rural High School
• West Point Public Schools
• Westside Community Schools
• Wheeler Central Schools
• Wilber-Clatonia Public Schools
• Wilcox-Hildreth Public Schools
• Winnebago Public Schools
• Winside Public Schools
• Wisner-Pilger Public Schools
• Wood River Rural District
• Wynot Public Schools

Y

• York Public Schools
• Yutan Public Schools

It is critical to make certain academic misconduct charges at your child's Nebraska high school are handled properly and that the accused student's interests and rights are protected from as early as possible during the investigative and disciplinary process.  One reason, among many, is because even at high schools where a finding of responsibility for academic misconduct is made at a hearing, the investigation will set the stage for what the hearing panel is provided prior to a hearing (and what the hearing panel will in large part rely on at a hearing), and at high schools where the finding of responsibility is made solely through the investigative process, what takes place during the investigation itself will determine whether the accused student is found responsible or not responsible for academic misconduct.

Unfortunately, some parents make the mistake of not taking the necessary precautions as soon as possible when their child is accused of academic misconduct.  Some people will mistakenly believe that if they "just explain what happened," their school will be fair and impartial and will arrive at the truth.  In a perfect world this may be the case, but in a perfect world, being called to answer for alleged academic misconduct would not exist.

Fighting passionately for the future of his clients at schools throughout the nation for many years, Joseph D. Lento knows how important it is to mount the strongest defense because he understands that an accused high school student's academic future is on the line. He does not settle for the easiest outcome, and instead prioritizes his clients' needs and well-being. Joseph Lento is a licensed attorney in New Jersey and New York, is admitted as an attorney pro hac vice in state and federal court if needed when representing clients nationwide, and serves as an academic misconduct advisor to high school students facing investigations and disciplinary cases in Nebraska and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected - Contact National High School Academic Misconduct Defense Attorney Joseph D. Lento today at 888-535-3686.