At the start of each academic year, students receive a student handbook that outlines the regulations and expectations they must adhere to while attending school. It also details the procedures the school will follow if a student fails to comply with these rules or meet academic expectations. To ensure elementary and secondary school students understand the information, they are typically expected to review the handbook with their parents during the first week of school. Both are required to sign the front page, acknowledging that they have read and understood the guidelines.
If you or your child has been accused of violating the school's regulations outlined in the handbook or you are having trouble progressing through the coursework, academic attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team are available to provide assistance. Call today for help.
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta Metropolitan Area
There are several major metropolitan areas in Georgia, but the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta metropolitan area is the most populated one, with 6,144,050 residents. As such, there are a number of counties located within it, including:
- Fulton
- Gwinnett
- Cobb
- DeKalb
- Clayton
- Cherokee
- Forsyth
- Henry
- Paulding
- Coweta
- Douglas
- Fayette
- Carroll
- Newton
- Bartow
- Walton
- Rockdale
- Barrow
- Spalding
- Pickens
- Haralson
- Dawson
- Butts
- Meriwether
- Morgan
- Pike
- Lamar
- Jasper
- Heard
Due to state bar regulations, attorneys typically limit their practice to one town or state. However, academic attorney-advisor Lento and the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team can provide support to families and students throughout the United States. This distinctive capability grants them unparalleled qualifications and insight into the obstacles students face while dealing with educational challenges.
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta Metro Area Student Concerns
Starting school is always a challenge for children and young adults, whether it's elementary school or college. Schools are effective in teaching both academic and social skills, such as teaching kindergarteners sight words and impulse control or college students advanced Spanish and responsibility. However, with the pressure to grow in both areas, some students may begin to exhibit behaviors that are out of character for them. And unfortunately, schools often fail to recognize this behavior as a call for help. Instead, they label the student as “lazy” or “incapable.”
Even when students or parents seek assistance, teachers and faculty may be hesitant to provide it, opting instead to tell the student to work harder. If the student is unable to do so, they are punished for not meeting expectations. This can negatively impact a student's self-esteem, leading to further behavioral issues.
Working with academic attorney-advisor Lento and the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team will mitigate any unnecessary punishment your child might receive and instead provide you with the essential tools needed for success.
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta Metro Area Schools
Academic attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team can help Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta metro area undergraduate and graduate students at:
- Ogelthorpe University
- Chamberlain University College of Nursing
- American Intercontinental University
- Georgia State University
- Emory University
Additionally, they can also work with students who attend elementary and secondary public school in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta metro area, including students at:
- Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology
- Northview High School
- Alpharetta High School
- Lambert High School
- Big Creek Elementary School
- DeKalb School of the Arts
- Brookwood Elementary School
- Buford Middle School
- Shiloh Point Elementary School
- Riverwatch Middle School
- International Charter of Atlanta
- Daves Creek Elementary School
- Buford Academy
- Piney Grove Middle School
- Lakeside Middle School
- McIntosh High School
- Denmark High School
- Chamblee Charter High School
Further, Attorney Lento and the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team can also provide assistance for private school students, including those who attend:
- The Westminster Schools
- Fulton Science Academy Private School
- Atlanta International School
- Pace Academy
- The Paideia School
- Woodward Academy
- The Lovett School
- The Walker School
- Holy Innocents' Episcopal School
- Pinecrest Academy
- Wesleyan School
- Atlanta Girls' School
- Notre Dame Academy
- The Mount Vernon School
- Mount Pisgah Christian School
- Grandon Hall School
- The Weber School
- Atlanta Jewish Academy
- Temima High School
As well as the more traditional educational settings described above, the team at Lento Law Firm can help students in miscellaneous programs like those at the:
- Atlanta Technical College
- Gwinnett Technical College
- Southern Crescent Technical College
- Atlanta Dental Assistant School
- UEI College – Stone Mountain
- Film Connection Film Institute
- Atlanta Medical Assistant School
Disciplinary Defense in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta Metropolitan Area
Schools can be a challenging environment for students as they navigate the process of learning to be responsible for themselves. At home, parents provide guidance on what to do and how to behave, but at school, students must share this responsibility with their teachers. If students choose to misbehave, they may face more severe consequences than they would at home for the same behavior. This is also true for college students who are living on their own for the first time and are solely responsible for their conduct, attitude, and academic success.
However, schools recognize that students have the right to due process and the chance to defend themselves against accusations of misconduct. Disciplinary hearings provide students with an opportunity to present their side of the story, including evidence and witnesses to support their defense. They can also cross-examine the school's witnesses and evidence in an effort to refute their argument. After the hearing, a disciplinary committee will typically determine whether the student is responsible for the alleged misconduct and, if so, what punishment is appropriate.
Schools generally aim to match the severity of the punishment with the seriousness of the conduct. For minor offenses, such as playing a prank, detention might be the appropriate punishment of choice. But in situations where the behavior is more serious, such as violating the school's code of conduct, the consequences may be more severe.
Hiring an academic attorney-advisor will ensure that the student's due process rights are protected and that they are not unfairly punished for minor or harmless conduct.
Academic Progression Issues
Like schools throughout the United States, the educational institutions in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta metropolitan area have established certain criteria that students must fulfill to advance to the next level of coursework, grade, or graduation ceremony. Failure to satisfy these requirements may result in the student being required to attend a progression or dismissal hearing.
For instance, to graduate from Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science & Technology, students must not only meet all of the requirements of traditional GCPS schools, but they must also complete several additional obligations, including:
- Five mandatory advanced placement courses
- Junior Fellowship Experience & Senior Capstone Experience credit
- A minimum of 26.0 Carnegie Units
- A Science Research and Senior Thesis
- An Engineering Pathway and the required assessments
- Two years of sequential World Language study
- An advanced academic Pathway
- A service requirement
- All local, state, and national assessment requirements
Academic Misconduct Issues
The weight of academic obligations, such as studying and seeking assistance when necessary, can be a daunting task for numerous students. Consequently, some resort to academic misconduct to pass their courses. Academic misconduct encompasses a broad range of prohibited behaviors, including cheating, plagiarism, and falsifying data on an examination, a paper, or another type of class assignment.
At Northview High School, students are expected to abide by the Honor Code, which includes refraining from committing any sort of academic misconduct. Examples of academic misconduct include:
- Giving or receiving information about an exam, paper, or another assignment, without permission.
- Exchanging cheat sheets with other classmates.
- Copying answers from another student.
- Using books or notes on an exam without permission.
- Presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own without providing proper citations.
- Discussing tests with other students who haven't taken them yet.
- Copying homework assignments.
If a student at Northview High School is accused of violating the Honor Code for the first time, they will receive a zero on the assignment, receive an Honor Code Violation (which is placed on their permanent file), and/or receive a Titan Opportunity School for four hours. After the first offense of violating the Honor Code, the sanctions a student can expect increase drastically, including in-school and out-of-school suspensions and, potentially, dismissal from the school altogether.
Behavioral Misconduct Issues
Academic difficulties may not be the only challenge for certain students, as some may struggle with exhibiting appropriate conduct while at school, or their behavior may be misinterpreted as academic misconduct. Either way, academic attorney-advisor Lento and the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team can help.
For example, at Emory University, students are expected to refrain from:
- Attempting to commit a code of conduct violation or helping others to do so.
- Failing to comply with the direction of university officials or law enforcement officials.
- Disrupting the normal operations of the university by participating in any type of demonstration.
- Misusing the computer or network resources.
- Violating university or school rules, regulations, or policies.
- Violating the Tobacco Free Environment Policy.
- Causing anyone else physical harm.
- Acting in ways that are likely to cause foreseeable physical or emotional harm to someone.
- Threatening, intimidating, or coercing another person.
- Violating the Sexual Misconduct Policy or Title IX.
- Violating the Anti-Hazing Policy.
- Joining a banned or suspended student organization.
- Public intoxication.
- Using or possessing illegal drugs or controlled substances.
- Underage drinking.
- Providing false or misleading information to a university official.
- Filing a false or misleading police report.
- Misusing the property or services of another.
- Destroying, damaging, or vandalizing property.
When a student at Emory University is accused of engaging in any of the aforementioned behaviors, school officials will initiate an investigation. If the investigation reveals sufficient evidence to support the accusation, a disciplinary hearing will be convened by an independent party. As previously mentioned, these hearings allow the accused student to present their case and refute the allegations against them. Therefore, seeking the guidance of an academic attorney-advisor is crucial to ensure that any potential adverse outcomes are effectively mitigated.
In many cases, students opt to represent themselves during these hearings without adequate preparation, which generally results in being penalized for lack of preparedness, rather than an actual fault. As such, working with Attorney Lento and the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team will ensure that you are thoroughly prepared to defend yourself.
Title IX Sexual Misconduct Issues
Title IX is a federal regulation that imposes specific procedures on schools receiving federal funding when investigating gender-based discrimination claims. This type of discrimination tends to always involve stalking, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and domestic or intimate partner violence. Additionally, some schools also include acts of retaliation and revenge porn in their Title IX violation definitions.
If a student is accused of violating Title IX, the school will conduct a thorough investigation before formally meeting with the student. The Title IX process requires an informal investigation to determine if there is enough credence to the accusation to warrant a more formal investigation and hearing. This time also provides the complainant with an opportunity to withdraw their accusation or decide not to file a formal complaint.
Once the informal investigation has finished, and the complainant has either decided to pursue a formal complaint or the school has decided to do so, a hearing date will be set. These hearings run similarly to the academic and behavioral misconduct hearings in that the accused student will have an opportunity to confront their accuser and defend themselves. They will also have an opportunity to cross-examine the other sides' witnesses and evidence.
At the end of the hearing, the committee will retreat to discuss the investigation's findings and the complainant and accused student's arguments. If they determine that the evidence presented supports the accusation, they will notify the student of their imposed sanction. Collaborating with an academic attorney-advisor immediately after being accused of a Title IX violation is the best way to protect your place on campus and your reputation.
How an Education Attorney-Advisor Can Help
If you or your child are facing a misconduct accusation or struggling with academic challenges, Attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team can help. They will work diligently to craft a strategic defense on your behalf, ensuring the best possible outcome for your case. Call 888-535-3686 today or schedule a consultation online.
