Academic Integrity

Honesty, trust and integrity are vital components of the education process. The School Board believes that academic honesty and personal integrity are fundamental components of a student's education and character development. The Board expects that students will not cheat, lie, plagiarize, or commit other acts of academic dishonesty.

Teachers care about student learning and as a community we value honesty, trust, and personal integrity. Academic integrity is an integral component in fostering self respect, achievement and positive relationships among all stakeholders in our District community. Our Academic Integrity Policy is intended to clarify the expectations we have for all students to maintain an ethical climate that values honesty, effort and respect for others.

Students are expected to produce their own work, complete course activities themselves, and take course exams, tests or quizzes without the assistance of others unless otherwise directly specified by the teacher. Students and families should understand and act upon the values of academic integrity and should encourage the highest standards of academic behavior from themselves and their peers.

Considerations for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Definitions of Academic Misconduct

Considerations for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Students:

AI is evolving constantly. Current considerations:

Using AI to write college essays: Please be aware that you should not input any personal information into AI. Anything entered is inputted into the system database and you lose confidentiality. Output can be considered the intellectual property of the AI you use, which means the information may appear in another query. We do not encourage students to use AI to write college essays.
There is now a way to cite ChatGPT in APA. You need to discuss with your teacher what use of AI is acceptable in their class.
- The use of any generative AI content requires correct MLA or APA citation.

MLA formatting requires direct citation of generative AI content (text and image) as well as any functional use of the tool for editing or translation.
APA formatting requires direct citation generative AI content be treated in the same manner as a "personal communications."
For both MLA and APA citation formatting, please follow your teacher's instructions regarding the preferred style, parenthetical or footnote, and Works Cited or References page

Teachers:

AI is constantly evolving and will likely be used widely in many jobs our students will have after they have completed their schooling. Please consider how your class can help students use AI appropriately to assist them with their learning. There is now a way to cite ChatGPT in APA. Teachers should make expectations clear with their students about what use of AI is acceptable in their class.

Definitions of Academic Misconduct

Cheating is a form of academic dishonesty in which an individual acts dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage on an assignment, project or test, thus undermining the integrity of an assignment or exam.

Examples of cheating include, but are not limited to, the following:

Copying an assignment or test
Improper electronic capturing, recording or photography of exams and other testing materials
Allowing others to copy an assignment or test
Giving or receiving test information (verbally or written)
Using unauthorized resources during an assessment
Submitting the same assignment or presentation more than once without prior teacher approval
Working on and/or completing an assignment collaboratively without teacher authorization
Making up information (data, quotations, sources, citations)
Stealing testing materials
Pressuring or encouraging another student to violate this Academic Integrity Policy, or, planning with another to commit a violation of this policy
Using Artificial Intelligence (example: ChatGPT) to complete homework, assignments, projects, essays, etc.

Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty in which an individual submits or presents the work of another person as his or her own.

Plagiarism exists when:

There is no recognition given to the original author for phrases, sentences, and ideas of the author incorporated in a paper or project.
A portion of a document is copied from an author, or composed by another person, and presented as original work.

Examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to, the following:

Presenting another author’s entire work as your own
Copying a summary from another source and incorporating it into your work
Submitting an essay or story written by anyone else
Using another author’s sentences or phrases without using quotations and/or citing your source
Using Artificial Intelligence (example: ChatGPT) to complete homework, assignments, projects, essays, etc.

Procedures

When a student has violated the Academic Integrity Policy the following sequential steps will occur:

The teacher gathers evidence of cheating/plagiarism, and confers with the student.
The teacher communicates the violation and details of the student conversation to the assistant principal (report to admin supporting students by last name).
The teacher will determine and communicate the grading outcome with the assistant principal before sharing with the student and parent/guardian.
The teacher will submit a written referral to the administrator.
The teacher will contact the parent/guardian (cc. Admin, School Counselor and Teacher Advisor) informing them of the infraction and grading outcome.
The administrator will record a summary of facts regarding the academic dishonesty in Infinite Campus.
The administrator will review the violation and the student’s disciplinary history in regards to academic dishonesty to determine appropriate disciplinary action.
The administrator will meet with the student and contact the parent/guardian.

Teachers, Administrators, and parents/guardians are responsible for helping the student understand how their actions have harmed others (classmates, staff) and what steps can be taken to rebuild trust and relationships they have potentially damaged. Staff will solicit the help of School Counselors, Teacher Advisors, and Wellness staff when appropriate.

Grading Outcomes

Grading outcomes are at the discretion of the classroom teacher. Each course-alike team/department is expected to have an aligned academic integrity policy in their course guide that outlines potential grading outcomes in regards to academic dishonesty. These course guides are shared with all students at the start of the year and posted in Schoology materials.

Potential Grading Outcomes May Include:

The student will redo the assignment/essay/test for a minimum of 50%.
- To emphasize the importance of the learning process, all course-alike teams are encouraged to have students redo an assignment/assessment (both formative and summative) when there exists evidence of cheating or plagiarism.
- In order to support our district goal of standards based grading, it is encouraged that the lowest grade a student should receive is a 50% when not using standards based grading.
The student will earn a 0 on the assignment/essay/test and write a reflection.
- This is for the most extreme violations of academic dishonesty (examples include: stealing or photographing an exam and/or distributing an exam; altering grades in a computer database or gradebook).

Disciplinary Actions

Disciplinary actions are determined by the Administrator and will depend on the nature of the policy violation and the student’s disciplinary history. Disciplinary actions may include, and are not limited to

Academic Integrity workshop
School or community service
Suspension from extracurricular activities or Paly events
Suspension if a violation of Ed. Code is determined to have occurred

A student may face consequences for prior violations of this policy that are discovered in the course of investigating a subsequent allegation. If a single incident of cheating encompasses more than one violation, the consequences for subsequent violations may be applicable.

Letters of Recommendation: Letters of recommendation by District staff do not fall within the purview of this Policy. Any decision to rescind or amend a letter of recommendation is reserved for the independent discretion of the staff member who wrote it.

If a student is accused of a Violation of the Academic Integrity Policy, they may present evidence in their defense, and respond to any evidence presented in support of the accusation. Turnitin.com, the observations and testimony of teachers, staff and other students and any materials submitted by the student may be used to establish the facts of the case.

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