Rationale and philosophy

Following the Academic Honesty policy adopted by the Campbell Union High School District Board of Education in 1994, the faculty and staff of Branham High School expect the highest standards of honesty and fairness from all students. If allowed to practice unethical learning behavior, students establish habits that are detrimental to the well-being of both the student and society. Branham is committed to its ESLRS that include integrity and honesty under the umbrella of “Self-Directed Learner”.

Included in the Action Plan items developed during the last WASC visit is the following improvement strategy: Create a culture that values and promotes academic integrity. In order to create such an environment while simultaneously protecting the student’s right to a fair and meaningful evaluation, the Academic Integrity Policy and Table of Consequences have been established and will be implemented on a school wide basis.

• Definitions and Examples

“Cheating: acting dishonestly; practicing fraud or trickery”

Cheating is thus defined as a conscious and deliberate act designed to further the interests of the party or parties concerned. It includes, but is not limited to the following.

Cheating on tests or academic assignments, including by not limited to:

• looking at someone else’s paper during an examination, test, quiz, etc.
  talking with other students during an examination, test, quiz, etc.
  using any kind of “cheat notes” or unauthorized materials to improve performance
  
• letting someone else see or use one’s work an any time during an examination, test, quiz, etc.
  
• copying work assigned to be done independently or letting others copy one’s work or another’s work; this includes electronically generated information and programs
  
• giving test information or receiving it from other students
• Fabricating or altering laboratory data or submitting reports based on falsified, fictitious, or copied data or footnotes
• Reporting on a book one has not read or reporting, without teacher permission, on a book previously read
• Purposely using deceitful practices to improve one’s grade or someone else’s grade
  
• Using, copying, or distributing electronic materials without permission, or using forbidden electronic devices

Plagiarism, including but not limited to:

• submitting individual projects not wholly one’s own without teacher approval
  
• misrepresenting other’s work as one’s own
  
• copying or closely paraphrasing sentences or passages from an uncited source while writing a paper or doing research

Consequences
The following consequences will result for confirmed violations of Branham’s Academic Integrity Policy. Consequences are cumulative over a period of one year, in each class.

First Offense:

• Student will receive a “zero” grade on the assignment.
  
• A referral will be sent to the Dean and parents will be notified by the Dean.
  
• A notation will be made in the student’s discipline file.

Second Offense:

• Student will receive a “zero” grade on the assignment.
  
• A second referral will be sent to the Dean.
  
• A conference will be arranged among Dean, teacher, parents, and students.
  
• A contract will be signed indicating than another violations will result with a Drop F from the class
  
• Student loses eligibility for Honors and AP classes the following year.

Third Offense:

• A third referral will be sent to the Dean.
  
• Student will be dropped from the class with an F grade and parents will be notified by the Dean.
  
• Further school consequences may be assigned by the Dean.

Appeal
Upon the issuance of a consequence for a student violation of the BHS Academic Integrity Policy, the student and/or parent/guardian has the right to appeal any or all of the consequences resulting from the violation. Appeals must be made in writing to the Vice Principal within five school days of the notification of the consequence.

NOTE:

No letters of recommendation will be written during a single academic year for a student receiving any combination of three violations in all his/her classes in any single academic year. Three of more violations in any combination of classes during a single academic year may also result in further school discipline from the Dean.

* * * * *

The following confirmed violations are considered serious one-time violations of the Academic Integrity Policy. There will be immediate notification to the Deans resulting in any or all of the following consequences: Drop F from class; Saturday School; school suspension; police citation; school expulsion.

• stealing tests, quizzes, answer keys, and other assessment information.
  
• accessing and disseminating information about tests and quizzes stored in computers or other electronic devices.
  
• distributing stolen information to other students.
  
• altering, falsifying, removing, or copying school records, including those electronically produced and stored.