One of the goals of sending your student to an Oregon high school is to prepare your student for the rigors of college. You also hope that their high school experience will help your child as they become a productive, ethical member of society.
Your high school has many processes in place to help form your child in this way. Among these processes include the fact that your school has high expectations regarding your child's behavior on campus. Violating these expectations can harm your own child's academic experience as well as the education of their peers. As such, Oregon high schools take academic misconduct extremely seriously.
If your OR high school student faces charges for academic misconduct, you need to take that seriously, as well. Future colleges will notice that your student has misconduct on their record. As a result, they may deny your child admission - or scholarships.
Fortunately, there are steps that you can take now to protect your child's future. First, it's a good idea to understand what academic misconduct is - and what your Oregon high school may do when they suspect your child of illicit behavior.
Oregon High School Academic Misconduct: What Actions Qualify?
The first place to find more information about your student's specific experiences and school expectations regarding academic misconduct is your student's high school code of conduct. This is a document that your school authors and updates yearly reflect the relationship between your student and your school. You can likely find a copy of your school's code of conduct on your school's website.
For example, the Oregon City School District code of conduct states that students must “hold themselves to high levels of achievement and conduct” and “take responsibility for their learning and behavior.” Later in the document, the code of conduct elucidates inappropriate behavior that may merit punitive or restorative action.
According to this example code of conduct, the following actions represent common forms of academic misconduct:
- Plagiarism: Merriam-Webster defines plagiarism as “stealing and passing off the ideas or words of another as one's own.” The issue with plagiarism is that, even though this act seems like a clearly problematic choice to avoid, accidental plagiarism is very easy and common. If your student doesn't use proper citations or references when using another person's body of work for an assignment, your school could accuse your student of plagiarism. Since this is the case, it's very important to teach your student the importance of comprehensive and clear references.
- Cheating: This type of misconduct covers a wide variety of unapproved actions. Whenever your student uses illicit materials or makes choices that give them an unfair advantage over their peers (e.g., using a cheat sheet or taking more time than recommended to complete an assignment), this could constitute cheating. Many Oregon schools consider cheating an extremely punishable action.
- Unauthorized collaboration or receiving unauthorized assistance: While it may not strike you as cheating working with another student or students on an exam or assignment without the teacher's express permission or getting help that is not specifically allowed can lead to trouble. Even a group study session may cross the line.
- Abuse of materials: If your high school student damages, steals, destroys, or otherwise misuses any resources that belong to your OR high school, the school could take action. The basis for this is twofold: Not only is your school financially invested in its resources, but if your student abuses a resource, it may prohibit other students from using it for their own education.
The Potential Penalties for Academic Misconduct in Oregon
Your school's code of conduct will also give you an idea regarding the penalties your student may face. Possible restorative measures will also vary significantly based on the severity of the alleged offense and your child's history of heeding the rules or toeing the line.
Depending upon many factors, your student might expect anything from receiving a failing grade for a specific plagiarized assignment, failing a course entirely, or even - if the infraction was very severe, or if your child repeatedly broke the rules - probation, suspension, or expulsion.
It's also important to consider the ramifications of your child's alleged behavior that go beyond strict punishments by your school. For example, even if your school states that your school's disciplinary processes are confidential, your student's reputation may receive a direct hit as a result of their behavior. This could make your student's life very difficult - in high school and beyond.
The Benefits of Working with Your Own Counsel
When your school notifies you that your student will face academic misconduct charges, the administration might offer you the opportunity to work with in-house counsel. This might seem like a generous move.
It's one that you should turn down. You need to work with an advisor that will be loyal to you in all cases. Unfortunately, even if the school assigns you an advisor, that legal counsel will be loyal first to the school. That means that they may not always act strictly in your best interest.
Your first move needs to be finding a legal team that you can completely trust.
High School Academic Misconduct Attorney Advisor Joseph D. Lento
If you're wondering what to do when your Oregon high school student faces accusations of academic misconduct, it can be easy to feel like you're on your own. After all, the support systems you're used to at your school may be crumbling. Fortunately, the Lento Law Firm will always be on your side. Joseph D. Lento has spent years successfully managing student defense cases at schools across the nation. He has provided thorough representation and aggressive defense for students fighting academic misconduct allegations, and he has helped their families reach favorable outcomes. He can do the same for you. To learn more about student defense in Oregon, contact the Lento Law Firm online or call 888-535-3686 today.
Oregon 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
- Adel School District
- Adrian School District
- Alsea School District
- Amity School District
- Annex School District
- Arlington School District
- Arock School District
- Ashland School District
- Ashwood School District
- Astoria School District
- Athena-Weston School District
B
- Baker School District
- Bandon School District
- Banks School District
- Beaverton School District
- Bend-La Pine Schools
- Bethel School District
- Blachly School District
- Black Butte School District
- Brookings-Harbor School District
- Burnt River School District
- Butte Falls School District
C
- Camas Valley School District
- Canby School District
- Cascade School District
- Centennial School District
- Central Curry School District
- Central Linn School District
- Central Point School District (formerly Jackson County School District)
- Central School District
- Clatskanie School District
- Colton School District
- Condon School District
- Coos Bay School District
- Coquille School District
- Corbett School District
- Corvallis School District
- Cove School District
- Creswell School District
- Crook County School District
- Crow-Applegate-Lorane School District
- Culver School District
D
- Dallas School District
- David Douglas School District
- Days Creek School District (Douglas County School District 4)
- Dayton School District
- Dayville School District
- Diamond School District
- Double O School District
- Drewsey School District
- Dufur School District
E
- Eagle Point School District
- Echo School District
- Elgin School District
- Elkton School District
- Enterprise School District
- Estacada School District
- Eugene School District
F
- Falls City School District
- Fern Ridge School District
- Forest Grove School District
- Fossil School District
- Frenchglen School District
G
- Gaston School District
- Gervais School District
- Gladstone School District
- Glendale School District
- Glide School District
- Grants Pass School District
- Greater Albany Public Schools
- Gresham-Barlow School District
H
- Harney County School District 3
- Harper School District
- Harrisburg School District
- Helix School District
- Hermiston School District
- Hillsboro School District
- Hood River County School District
- Huntington School District
I
- Imbler School District
- Ione School District
J
- Jefferson County School District
- Jefferson School District
- Jewell School District
- John Day School District (Grant County School District)
- Jordan Valley School District
- Joseph School District
- Junction City School District
- Juntura School District
K
- Klamath County School District
- Klamath Falls City Schools
- Knappa School District
L
- La Grande School District
- Lake County School District (Lakeview School District)
- Lake Oswego School District
- Lebanon Community Schools
- Lincoln County School District
- Long Creek School District
- Lowell School District
M
- Mapleton School District
- Marcola School District
- McDermitt Elementary School District (Students attend school in McDermitt, Nevada)
- McKenzie School District
- McMinnville School District
- Medford School District
- Milton-Freewater Unified School District
- Mitchell School District
- Molalla River School District
- Monroe School District
- Monument School District
- Morrow School District
- Angel School District
- Myrtle Point School District
N
- Neah-Kah-Nie School District
- Nestucca Valley School District
- Newberg School District
- North Bend School District
- North Clackamas School District
- North Douglas School District
- North Lake School District
- North Marion School District
- North Powder School District
- North Santiam School District
- North Wasco County School District (formerly The Dalles and Chenowith school districts)
- Nyssa School District
O
- Oakland School District
- Oakridge School District
- ODE Head Start
- Ontario School District
- Oregon City School District
- Oregon Trail School Districty
P
- Paisley School District
- Parkrose School District
- Pendleton School District
- Perrydale School District
- Philomath School District
- Phoenix-Talent School District
- Pilot Rock School District
- Pine Creek School District
- Pine Eagle School District
- Pinehurst School District
- Pleasant Hill School District
- Plush School District
- Port Orford-Langlois School District
- Portland Public Schools
- Powers School District
- Prairie City School District
- Prospect School District
R
- Rainier School District
- Redmond School District
- Reedsport School District
- Reynolds School District
- Riddle School District
- Riverdale School District
- Rogue River School District
- Roseburg School District (Douglas County School District 4)
S
- Salem-Keizer Public Schools
- Santiam Canyon School District
- Scappoose School District
- Scio School District
- Seaside School District
- Sheridan School District
- Sherman County School District
- Sherwood School District
- Silver Falls School District
- Sisters School District
- Siuslaw School District
- South Harney School District
- South Lane School District
- South Umpqua School District
- South Wasco County School District
- Spray School District
- Springfield School District
- Paul School District
- Helens School District
- Stanfield School District
- Suntex School District
- Sutherlin School District
- Sweet Home School District
T
- Three Rivers/Josephine County School District
- Tigard-Tualatin School District
- Tillamook School District
- Troy School District
U
- Ukiah School District
- Umatilla School District
- Union School District
V
- Vale School District
- Vernonia School District
W
- Wallowa School District
- Warrenton-Hammond School District
- West Linn-Wilsonville School District
- Willamina School District
- Winston-Dillard School District
- Woodburn School District
Y
- Yamhill-Carlton School District
- Yoncalla School District
It is critical to make certain academic misconduct charges at your child's Oregon 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 Oregon 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.
