Academic misconduct: It's a vague term that can instantly frustrate, confuse, and scare - especially if your Tennessee teenager stands accused of this nebulously-worded infraction by their high school. What is academic misconduct? What is going to happen to your high school student? Is there anything you can do to protect your child from any long-ranging or unpleasant consequences?
Academic misconduct, broadly speaking, refers to any actions that your school has deemed unsupportive of your student's educational experience and the entire school community.
Your TN high school will conduct an investigation, provide a decision as to guilt, and recommend punitive or restorative consequences for your child.
There are steps you can take to protect your child from unfair investigations, sloppy hearings, and the permanent ramifications of an academic misconduct charge. By starting early and contacting an experienced legal team as soon as you learn about your student's situation, you give your child their best chance possible as they fight through their academic misconduct case.
What Constitutes Academic Misconduct in Tennessee High Schools?
If this is the first time that your student has merited negative attention from your TN high school, you might worry about both the immediate and far-ranging future for your family. You might also, more simply, just feel confused. What has your child done to trigger the alarming notifications, sternly-worded invitations to meetings, and stark potential punishments you're learning about?
The specific actions that your school deems punishable may be specific to your school. The best way to understand the type of illicit activities that your school will flag as ‘misconduct' is to refer to your student's handbook (or your Tennessee high school's code of conduct). However, there are some actions that most schools prohibit. One Tennessee high school's code of conduct suggests that academic misconduct involves many activities, including:
- Plagiarism, or the act of representing another person's thoughts or exact words as your own without citation
- Self-plagiarism, or using one piece of work to satisfy numerous assigned projects without citation
- Classroom disruption, or acting against classroom rules to distract oneself or others from an academic experience
- Abuse of school materials, or causing the school financial harm by destroying, losing, or defacing school property
- Cheating, or using unauthorized methods to give oneself or another student an advantage over their peers
- Unauthorized collaboration, or working with another student or other students on an asignment or exam without express permission
Ultimately, there are many actions that could trigger an academic misconduct investigation (and resultant punitive measures) at your Tennessee high school. In order to best prepare your family to fight your student's charges, you need a legal team that:
- Has experience with the wide, varied range of academic misconduct allegations
- Knows precisely how to interpret potentially confusing codes of conduct
- Can build a strong case for your student's innocence and hold your school accountable to your student's due process rights
If you don't do this, your school could treat your child unfairly. This could end up unduly affecting your child's future.
Tennessee High School Due Process: What to Expect
The severity of your child's alleged offense will dictate the nature of your school's response. For example, if your school says that your child cheated on an assignment or plagiarized a paper, your school may simply give your child another chance to complete the assignment. Alternatively, your child could receive a failing grade for that specific project - but otherwise suffer no more long-term consequences.
On the other hand, some schools may recommend more stark sanctions. If your child has a history of illicit behavior, or if the alleged infraction is severe, your child could face much more long-ranging ramifications of their actions. According to one Tennessee school's code of conduct, consequences such as probation, suspension, and even expulsion are not off the table.
It's important to remember that the most important ramifications go beyond those listed in your school's code of conduct. When your student applies to further academic opportunities or scholarships, that charge of academic misconduct might disqualify them out of hand.
You Need a TN Student Defense Advisor If…
...something is at stake, and if accused of academic misconduct in any capacity, something is at stake regrettably. More specifically, if your student:
- Faces consequences that don't fit the alleged offense;
- Experiences an unfair, speedy, or sloppy investigation or hearing;
- Is innocent of the alleged infraction;
- Is scared about how their past could dictate their future;
- Believes that your school has steamrolled over their rights;
You need to work with a legal team that will provide seasoned representation and determined defense. Doing so could make the difference between your student enjoying their previous potential - and your student suffering an outcome that could affect them for life.
An experienced student defense legal advisor can help you draft documents, keep track of important deadlines, and even attend meetings and hearings with you, so you always have someone in your corner. Finding a competent and highly-skilled legal advisor is the best thing you can do to protect your student and safeguard their future.
Joseph D. Lento is Ready to Help Keep Your TN School Accountable to Your Child's Rights
It's easy to get overwhelmed by what could happen once you learn that your child stands accused of academic misconduct.
In an instant, the bright future that you've carefully built for your child could seem threatened. You might feel alone, as your student's academic support system seems to disappear in an instant.
You're not alone. At the Lento Law Firm, we have a reputation for offering empathetic, experience-driven support for student defense cases nationwide. Whether your Tennessee school adjudicates your student's academic misconduct case through an extensive investigation and formal hearing or more quickly and quietly, Joseph D. Lento will be there to assist your family at every step of the way. Through aggressive representation, thorough analysis, and detailed preparation, Joseph D. Lento will help your student work towards a favorable outcome for their case.
Protect your student's future today by learning more about student defense in Tennessee. Contact the Lento Law Firm online or call 888-535-3686 today.
Tennessee 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
- Alamo City Schools
- Alcoa City Schools
- Anderson County Schools
- Athens City Elementary Schools
B
- Bedford County Schools
- Bells City Schools
- Benton County Schools
- Bledsoe County Schools
- Blount County Schools
- Bradford Special Schools
- Bradley County Schools
- Bristol City Schools
C
- Campbell County Schools
- Cannon County Schools
- Carroll County Schools
- Carter County Schools
- Cheatham County Schools
- Chester County School District
- Claiborne County Schools
- Clay County Schools
- Cleveland City Schools
- Clinton City Schools
- Cocke County Schools
- Coffee County Schools
- Crockett County Schools
- Cumberland County Schools
D
- Dayton City Elementary Schools
- Decatur County Schools
- Dekalb County Schools
- Dickson County Schools
- Dyer County Schools
- Dyersburg City Schools
E
- Elizabethton City Schools
- Etowah City Elementary Schools
F
- Fayette County Schools
- Fayetteville City Elementary Schools
- Fentress County Schools
- Franklin City Elementary Schools
- Franklin County Schools
G
- Gibson Special Schools
- Giles County Schools
- Grainger County Schools
- Greene County Schools
- Greeneville City Schools
- Grundy County Schools
H
- Hamblen County Schools
- Hamilton County School District
- Hancock County Schools
- Hardeman County Schools
- Hardin County Schools
- Hawkins County Schools
- Haywood County Schools
- Henderson County Schools
- Henry County Schools
- Hickman County Schools
- Hollow Rock-Bruceton Schools
- Houston County Schools
- Humboldt City Schools
- Humphreys County Schools
- Huntingdon Special Schools
J
- Jackson County Schools
- Jackson-Madison County School System
- Jefferson County Schools
- Johnson City Schools
- Johnson County Schools
K
- Kingsport City Schools
- Knox County Schools
L
- Lake County Schools
- Lauderdale County Schools
- Lawrence County Schools
- Lebanon Special Schools
- Lenoir City Schools
- Lewis County Schools
- Lexington City Elementary Schools
- Lincoln County Schools
- Loudon County Schools
M
- Macon County Schools
- Manchester City Schools
- Marion County Schools
- Marshall County Schools
- Maryville City Schools
- Maury County Schools
- McKenzie Special School District
- McMinn County Schools
- McNairy County Schools
- Meigs County Schools
- Milan Special School District
- Monroe County Schools
- Montgomery County Public Schools
- Moore County Schools
- Morgan County Schools
- Murfreesboro City Schools
N
- Nashville-Davidson County School District
- Newport City Elementary Schools
O
- Oak Ridge City Schools
- Obion County Schools
- Oneida City Schools
- Overton County Schools
P
- Paris City Special Schools
- Perry County Schools
- Pickett County Schools
- Polk County Schools
R
- Rhea County Schools
- Roane County Schools
- Robertson County Schools
- Rogersville City Elementary Schools
- Rutherford County Schools
S
- Scott County Schools
- Sequatchie County Schools
- Sevier County Schools
- Shelby County School District
- Smith County Schools
- Stewart County Schools
- Sullivan County Schools
- Sumner County Schools
- Sweetwater City Schools
T
- Tipton County Schools
- Trenton City Schools
- Trousdale County Schools
- Tullahoma City Schools
U
- Unicoi School
- Union City School
- Union County School
V
- Van Buren County Schools
W
- Warren County Schools
- Washington County Schools
- Wayne County Schools
- Weakley County Schools
- White County Schools
- Williamson County Schools
- Williamson County School District
- Wilson County Schools
It is critical to make certain academic misconduct charges at your child's Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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.
