Whenever a student starts a new school year, they are given a student handbook, which lays out the expectations the school has for them. It doesn't matter if your child is in kindergarten or their freshman year of college, they will probably receive it during the first week of school. In elementary and middle school, they typically expect students and their parents to review the rules within the handbook and sign the front page together, acknowledging they understand the consequences of any misbehavior.
If, at any time during the school year, your child is accused of violating the rules in the student handbook, or if they have a hard time passing their courses, they may be referred for a disciplinary hearing. No matter the accusation, students have the right to defend themselves. The Academic Attorneys and Education Law Team can help. Call the LLF Law Firm today.
Harrisburg-Carlisle Metropolitan Area
The Harrisburg-Carlisle metropolitan area is nestled in South Central Pennsylvania, with a population of just under 600,000 people. While the metro area is made up of only three counties – Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry – it includes several communities, such as:
- Harrisburg
- Carlisle
- Hershey
- Colonial Park
- Progress
- Mechanicsburg
- Camp Hill
- New Cumberland
- Lower Allen
- Enola
- Steelton
- Paxtonia
- Lemoyne
- Rutherford
- Skyline View
- Wormleysburg
- Boiling Springs
- Lawton
- Hummelstown
- Linglestown
- Middleton
- Penbrook
- Messiah College
- Newport
- Paxtang
- Bressler
- Williamstown
- Newville
- Palmdale
- West Fairview
- New Bloomfield
- Enhaut
- Liverpool
- Millerstown
- Oberlin
- New Kingston
For the most part, attorneys are expected to focus their practice in one state or a specific town because of their bar licenses. But academic attorneys at the LLF Law firm have choose to help students across the country who face disciplinary and academic misconduct issues at their school, providing him with unmatched experience in this arena.
Harrisburg-Carlisle Metro Area Student Concerns
Students face challenges in school every day. They are not only learning educational matters but also new social skills, managing responsibilities, and juggling their academic and social lives. In addition, for most college students, it is the first time they are charged with taking care of themselves, which can be quite overwhelming, especially if they are far from home.
Unfortunately, this kind of pressure can push students to behave in ways they normally would not. For instance, high school students whose parents have taken on a new employment role that requires them to work longer hours might find it hard to navigate their newfound freedom. In learning how to be responsible for themselves, they could start staying up later, forget to do their homework, or fall in with a questionable crowd. Most schools simply see this change in behavior as laziness or teen angst instead of the cry for help it is.
Having an academic attorney in your corner is the best way to ensure your child's needs are met. Students should be seen as people, not numbers to be controlled. Attorneys at the LLF Law Firm understand this and will work tirelessly to prevent your child from being unnecessarily punished.
Harrisburg-Carlisle Metro Area Schools
Academic attorneys at the LLF Law Firm can help Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area undergraduate and graduate students at:
- Messiah College – Harrisburg Campus
- Harrisburg Area Community College
- Temple University – Harrisburg Campus
- Albright College
- Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
- Central Penn College
- Penn State – Harrisburg College
- Dickinson College
In addition to undergraduate and graduate programs, the Education Law Team can also work with students who attend elementary and secondary public schools in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area, such as:
- Winding Creek Elementary School
- Carlisle Area High School
- W.G. Rice Elementary School
- Boiling Springs High School
- Yellow Breeches Middle School
- Mooreland Elementary School
- Iron Forge Elementary School
- Letort Elementary School
- Wilson Middle School
- Bellaire Elementary School
- Lamberton Middle School
- Hamilton Elementary School
- Crestview Elementary School
- Mooreland Elementary School
- Wilson Middle School
- Mountain View Middle School
- Eagle View Middle School
- Cumberland Valley High School
The Education Law Team can also help students at such private schools as:
- Trinity High School
- West Shore Christian Academy
- Heritage Christian Academy
- Carlisle Christian Academy
- St. Joseph School
- St. Patrick School
- Al-Huda
- The Christian School of Grace Baptist Church
- River Rock Academy
- The Children's Garden of St. John's Lutheran Church
- Merakey Autism Center Carlisle
- Running Pump Road Parochial School
- Blue Ridge Mennonite School
- Quarry Hill School
In addition to the conventional academic settings described above, Academic Attorneys at the LLF Law Firm can also help students in miscellaneous programs, including:
- U.S. Army War College
- The Learning Center
- Allegro Learning Solutions
- Empire Beauty School
Disciplinary Defense in the Harrisburg-Carlisle Metropolitan Area
As explained above, students tend to get in trouble at school because they are navigating new responsibilities. Sometimes, the stress of growing up can cause students to act out. For instance, an overly stressed first grader might spend class time talking to his neighbors or fidgeting in his seat, distracting the other students. This kind of distraction can lead the student to get reprimanded or be kept back from recess.
The same thing is true for college students who are fully accountable to themselves for the first time in their lives. Not only do they have to figure out when and how to feed themselves, they also must make a choice to do their homework and show up to class – no one is there to encourage them to participate in their college classes.
If a student misbehaves, whether they are in middle school or a PhD candidate, they will be referred for a disciplinary hearing, which could result in harsh sanctions and even dismissal from the school altogether. Fortunately, all schools provide their students with due process rights, including having the opportunity to defend themselves in a formal hearing process.
Further, accused students are allowed to work with an academic attorney during these proceedings. An academic attorney will help the student gather evidence and witness testimony so that they can present a solid defense at the hearing. They will also help them cross-examine the school's evidence and witnesses, ensuring the student's side of the story is heard fully.
When the hearing ends, the disciplinary committee will retrieve to consider both sides and the evidence they have presented to support their arguments. If they determine that there is enough evidence to support the argument that the student violated the code of conduct in the student handbook, the school will administer a particular sanction.
Generally, sanctions range from an academic warning or probation to suspension or expulsion. Either way, the punishment is supposed to match the severity of the misconduct. So, students should not be expelled for simply speaking aloud in class. If your student is punished too harshly, or the outcome of the hearing is not what you would like, most schools have a process for appealing the decision. The Education Law Team at the LLF Law Firm can help ease this burden from your shoulders as well. Call today.
Academic Progression Issues
Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area schools, like most schools across the country, have certain thresholds their students must meet before they can advance to the next stage of their academic careers. When a student cannot meet these thresholds, they tend to be referred for a progression or dismissal hearing, depending on the rules of that particular school.
For example, at Carlisle Area High School, to qualify for graduation, students must have a total of 24 credits and have at least a 1.0 quality point average (equivalent to a “D” grade) in each course. And at St. Joseph School, students cannot advance to the next grade if they fail two major subjects in one year and cannot complete the requirements during summer school.
Academic Misconduct Issues
Most students do not want to spend their time outside of school studying or completing homework, while others have a hard time completing the assignment without the ability to ask for help. When this happens, students may turn to dishonest actions to ensure they pass their classes.
Academic integrity is paramount at most schools because it helps to foster an environment where students can develop intellectually and creatively. Thus, most schools have rules against violating academic integrity, including academic misconduct.
While academic dishonesty is a blanket term that covers plagiarism and cheating, most schools have created specific definitions for actions that qualify as academic misconduct.
At Cumberland Valley High School, academic dishonesty is defined as the following actions:
- Using phrases or text without proper citation.
- Using multiple paragraphs of someone else's work or repeated paraphrasing without proper citation.
- Collaborating on an assignment without permission.
- Accessing someone else's work, without their knowledge, to cheat.
- Stealing from the teacher to cheat.
- Giving someone else your work so they can cheat.
- Using electronic materials to cheat on an assignment, exam or paper.
- Telling the teacher that they entered the wrong grade on an assignment.
- Cheating for a second time or more.
Students who are suspected of committing academic dishonesty at Cumberland Valley High School will be punished. The punishment imposed varies depending on the level of the offense. For instance, level 1 offenses are usually given a warning and require the student to redo their work without an academic penalty. But a level 2, 3rd-degree offense would incur a 30% academic penalty and require the student to meet with the school administrator.
Behavioral Misconduct Issues
Despite how common academic dishonesty and progression issues are, some students may not encounter either. Instead, their personal lives, or their experiences with other students and their teachers, will alter their behavior while at school. Much of the time, this behavior is mislabeled as misconduct and not seen as something with an emotional core that should be addressed. Whatever the issue, though,the Education Law Team can help the student overcome the school's response to it, negotiating with them on the student's behalf.
For example, at Temple University, students are supposed to follow the guidelines in the code of conduct and avoid the following behaviors:
- Disruption or obstruction of university activities.
- Intentionally or recklessly harming another person.
- Intentionally or recklessly, putting someone else in fear of being harmed, having a third party harmed, damaging their property, or physically harming their Service or Emotional Support Animal, whether verbally, physically, or emotionally.
- Any kind of gesture, written, verbal or physical act, or electronic communication, that causes another person severe or pervasive distress.
- Harassment or bullying.
- Stealing university property, private property, or governmental property.
- Intentionally providing the university with false or misleading information.
- Misusing university property or the property of someone else on campus.
- Unlawfully possessing, manufacturing, or distributing alcoholic beverages.
Students who are accused of behaving like this will be forced to endure a formal hearing proceeding. The process is similar to the disciplinary hearing described above, in that the student will have the opportunity to defend themselves by presenting evidence and witness testimony on their behalf and cross-examining the other side's evidence and witnesses.
Sometimes, students decide to defend themselves during these proceedings. They are very rarely successful. Working with an academic attorney is the only way to ensure you receive the best possible outcome for your case.
Title IX Sexual Misconduct Issues
In the United States, schools that receive federal funding are required to abide by Title IX, which is a federal regulation that requires these schools to follow specific steps when investigating accusations of gender-based discrimination. Gender-based discrimination, according to Title IX, includes behaviors like domestic or intimate partner violence, stalking, sexual misconduct, and sexual harassment.
Students accused of violating Title IX will be investigated prior to formal charges being brought against them. If the Title IX Coordinator determines there is a basis for the accusations, they will initiate a formal hearing process, where the student is given the opportunity to defend themselves. If a student is found responsible for a Title IX violation, there are several sanctions a school could impose, including changing their class schedule and housing assignment to ensure the victim and accused student are able to avoid one another on campus.
How an Academic Attorney-Advisor Can Help
All students face challenges, but many schools are quick to label their actions as laziness or misconduct instead of looking for the root cause. When this happens, students are punished unnecessarily instead of being offered help.
The LLF Law Firm will work diligently to ensure your child has access to resources that will help them succeed. Call 888-535-3686 today or schedule a consultation online.
