Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic misconduct are prevalent in high schools across the country. To reduce instances of academic dishonesty, schools hand out harsh punishments for these kinds of offenses. Unfortunately, when it comes to cheating, many schools don't give students the benefit of the doubt. They find a student guilty of academic misconduct without looking at all the evidence. Often, school administrators are more concerned with student discipline than with student growth.
Since the penalties for academic misconduct are strict and long-term, a student accused of such actions could feel panicked and overwhelmed—especially if the accusation is false. If your child's South Dakota high school has cited them for an academic dishonesty offense and you don't want your child to suffer unnecessary consequences, you can turn to a student defense legal advisor for help.
What Is Academic Misconduct in South Dakota?
Academic misconduct is any dishonest or deceitful attempt by a student to gain an unfair advantage in an academic setting. Cheating, copying answers, or lying to get out of class are all examples of academic misconduct. Many educators feel that academic dishonesty disrupts the learning process, both for the student committing it and for their classmates. For this reason, South Dakota schools have harsh punishments for this kind of behavior
Both you and your child should read your high school's policies concerning academic misconduct, so you're well informed of what constitutes an infraction. Some schools may refer to it as academic dishonesty, academic integrity, or an honor code.
Common examples of academic misconduct in South Dakota
- Plagiarism: Plagiarism is taking the ideas and opinions of someone else and claiming them as one's own. Students can get in trouble for plagiarism if they don't cite their sources properly on a resource paper or if they copy a friend's assignment. Copying work for a previous project or paper into a new one is also plagiarism—self-plagiarism. Students can easily commit plagiarism without meaning to and receive harsh penalties for it. To avoid false accusations, students should ask teachers about properly citing sources if they have questions.
- Cheating: Cheating is intentionally going against a teacher's instructions regarding an assignment, project, or test. Obtaining answers to a test beforehand, paying someone to write a paper, or using materials in class that the teacher has forbidden are all examples of cheating. Cheating is a broad category that high schools usually don't define clearly in their academic honesty codes. Whether something constitutes cheating or not is often left to the discretion of a teacher or school administrator, giving accused students little recourse.
- Unauthorized group work: When students work together on a project, and they're not supposed to, they could receive an academic misconduct infraction. Academic dishonesty could also be students giving each other answers on an assignment rather than helping each other. When it comes to group work, it's not always clear when academic dishonesty is involved. Students could, therefore, receive an infraction when they had no malicious intent at all.
- Falsification: Most high school students today are aware of how serious plagiarism is. To avoid this accusation, they might make up sources instead. They may also fabricate facts or information for a project or paper. Inventing sources and information is still academic misconduct. Falsification is also attempting to tamper with academic records or giving false information to a teacher to get out of an assignment.
- Improper technology use: Today's high schools lacking computers, laptops, tablets, or other electronic devices would be unthinkable. Increased technology use brings more potential for academic misconduct, however. Using a smartphone during an exam or without permission on an assignment could be academic dishonesty. Submitting an online assignment with another student's account could also result in an academic misconduct accusation.
How Do South Dakota High Schools Handle Academic Misconduct?
Penalties for academic misconduct may vary by the severity of the offense. The Sioux Falls school district considers academic dishonesty as an academic infraction, punishable on the first violation by either in-school suspension or after-school suspension of one day. The suspension time goes up to three to five days for the second violation, and the student is withdrawn from the relevant class with a failing grade on the third violation. The Sioux Falls district-wide discipline handbook lists some examples of academic dishonesty, but it isn't a comprehensive list, leaving the final definition up to teachers and administrators.
Disciplinary hearing
Many schools may not include a disciplinary hearing as part of the academic misconduct process—but your student has rights. If a student is facing a long-term suspension from school (more than 10 days), they have a federal right to due process. They can request a hearing, or a chance to defend their case. Some states also allow students to have legal representation present at their hearing.
How Can a Student Defense Advisor Help?
While most schools take academic misconduct seriously, they tend to ignore the student's perspective. Academic misconduct violations are a permanent stain on a student's academic career. Yet, high schools expect students and parents to handle the accusation and penalty process on their own, without professional legal help. It's not a crime, so you don't need a legal advisor, right?
Wrong. When it comes to academic misconduct offenses, the odds are stacked in the school's favor. A student defense attorney-advisor can even the playing field. A legal professional will examine all the relevant policies from the school, the district, the county, and the state to put together the best defense strategy for your student. Something as grave as academic misconduct shouldn't be up to teachers' and administrators' discretion. An academic dishonesty accusation should be subject to formal written policies.
If your child is facing an academic misconduct violation and you want to help secure their future, Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm can help. Our firm has defended thousands of high school and college students for academic misconduct cases around the country. Call today at 888-535-3686 for a consultation with a trusted academic misconduct legal advisor.
South Dakota 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:
Aberdeen School District
Agar-Blunt-Onida School District
Alcester-Hudson School District
Andes Central School District
Arlington School District
Armour School District
Avon School District
Baltic School District
Belle Fourche School District
Bennett County School District
Beresford School District
Big Stone City School District
Bison School District
Bon Homme School District
Bowdle School District
Brandon Valley School District
Bridgewater School District
Britton-Hecla School District
Brookings School District
Burke School District
Canistota School District
Canton School District
Castlewood School District
Centerville School District
Chamberlain School District
Chester Area School District
Cheyenne-Eagle Butte School (Eagle Butte School District)
Clark School District
Colman-Egan School District
Colome Consolidated School District
Corsica School District
Custer School District
Dakota Valley School District
De Smet School District
Dell Rapids School District
Deubrook Area School District
Deuel School District
Doland School District
Douglas School District
Dupree School District
Eagle Butte School District
Edgemont School District
Edmunds Central School District
Elk Mountain School District
Elk Point-Jefferson School District
Elkton School District
Emery School District
Estelline School District
Ethan School District
Eureka School District
Faith School District
Faulkton Area School District
Flandreau School District
Florence School District
Frederick Area School District
Freeman School District
Garretson School District
Gayville-Volin School District
Gettysburg School District
Grant-Deuel School District
Greater Hoyt School District
Greater Scott School District
Gregory School District
Groton Area School District
Haakon School District
Hamlin School District
Hanson School District
Harding County School District
Harrisburg School District
Henry School District
Herreid School District
Highmore-Harrold School District
Hill City School District
Hitchcock-Tulare School District
Hot Springs School District
Hoven School District
Howard School District
Hurley School District
Huron School District
Ipswich Public School District
Irene-Wakonda School District
Iroquois School District
Isabel School District
Jones County School District
Kadoka Area School District
Kimball School District
Lake Preston School District
Langford School District
Lead-Deadwood School District
Lemmon School District
Lennox School District
Leola School District
Lyman School District
Madison Central School District
Marion School District
McCook Central School District
McIntosh School District
McLaughlin School District
Meade School District
Menno School District
Milbank School District
Miller Area School District
Mitchell School District
Mobridge-Pollock School District
Montrose School District
Mount Vernon School District
New Underwood School District
Newell School District
Northwestern Area School District
Oelrichs School District
Oldham-Ramona School District
Parker School District
Parkston School District
Pierre School District
Plankinton School District
Platte-Geddes School District
Rapid City Area School District
Redfield School District
Rosholt School District
Roslyn School District
Rutland School District
Sanborn Central School District School Website
Scotland School District
Selby Area School District
Shannon County School District
Sioux Falls School District
Sioux Valley School District
Sisseton School District
Smee School District
South Central School District
Spearfish School District
Stanley County School District
Stickney School District
Summit School District
Tea Area School District
Timber Lake School District
Todd County School District
Tripp-Delmont School District
Tri-Valley School District
Vermillion School District
Viborg School District
Wagner Community School District
Wall School District
Warner School District
Watertown School District
Waubay School District
Waverly School District
Webster School District
Wessington Springs School District
West Central School District
White Lake School District
White River School District
Willow Lake School District
Wilmot School District
Winner School District
Wolsey-Wessington School District
Wood School District
Woonsocket School District
Yankton School District
It is critical to make certain academic misconduct charges at your child's South Dakota 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 South Dakota 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.
