Academic Integrity Policy

In FCPS Regulation 2601.39P Scholastic Dishonesty is defined as follows:

Scholastic dishonesty or academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsifying academic records, and any act designed to give unfair advantage to the student through any means including the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI).

The Academic Integrity Policy expressly forbids the following academic violations:

Cheating

Examples of cheating include but are not limited to:

• Copying another person’s work.
• Allowing another person to copy your work.
• Using unauthorized notes, aids, or written material in any form during a test.
• Unauthorized possession of technological devices (cell phones, cameras, ipods, games, etc) while taking an assessment.
• Copying from another person’s paper; giving or receiving information orally, or by signs, gestures, or deception during any type of assessment.
• Unauthorized use of intellectual property.

Plagiarism

Examples of plagiarism include but are not limited to:

• Presenting someone else’s work as your own including the copying of language, structure, programming, computer code, ideas, and/or thoughts of another without proper citation or acknowledgement.
• Copying word for word, without using quotation marks or giving credit to the source of the material.
• Failing to use proper documentation and citations.
• Having somebody else do assignments which are then submitted as one’s own work.

Responsibility of all school community members with respect to the Academic Integrity Policy

Teachers have the responsibility to:

• Teach or review the correct use of sources and citations when assigning work.
• Structure conditions during testing to reduce the possibility of cheating.
• Specify the types of collaboration that are discouraged and those that are encouraged.
• Specify when it is acceptable for students to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) on any part of an assignment and what the expectations are for students to cite and/or explain their use of AI.
• Communicate with students and families in a way that respects dignity and values restorative learning, while also holding students accountable for behaviors that violate the Academic Integrity policy. 

Students have the responsibility to:

• Avoid situations that might contribute to cheating or plagiarizing.
• Avoid unauthorized assistance.
• Clarify with teachers when it is acceptable to use AI and how to cite and/or explain AI use.
• Use sources in the prescribed manner.
• Document borrowed materials by properly citing sources.
• Avoid plagiarism by:
  • Using quotation marks for statements taken from others.
  • Acknowledging information and ideas borrowed from any source.
  • Consulting faculty members about a questionable situation.
• Refrain from “cutting” and “pasting” from other sources without proper attribution or citation. Teachers may require work to be completed in specific platforms (e.g., Google Docs).

Parents have the responsibility to:

• Discuss the Academic Integrity Policy with their child to ensure understanding.
• Encourage their child to maintain high standards with regard to integrity, honesty, and personal responsibility.
• Help their child understand that AIP violation decisions are based on behaviors that explicitly violate the policy, not intentions behind the behavior.  

Administrators have the responsibility to:

• Ensure that all faculty, students, and parents receive the Academic Integrity Policy.
• Help contribute to a school-wide environment that encourages adherence to the Academic Integrity Policy.
• Require teachers to enforce the Academic Integrity Policy.
• Maintain accurate records of Academic Integrity Policy violations.
• Ensure that the Academic Integrity Policy is being applied consistently throughout the school.

Academic Integrity Policy violations are tracked across all the yearsa student is enrolled at South Lakes High School.  

Example: If a first offense happens in the student’s  freshman year in an English course, and another offense occurs during  junior year in a math course, that will be considered the SECOND offense. The tracking is across all courses and years at South Lakes High School and does NOT reset at the beginning of each academic year. 

For possible additional consequences specific to the IB program/courses ,  refer to this page

Below shows the consequences based on the number of previous offenses. 

IB Specific Considerations

When an Academic Integrity Policy (AIP)  violation occurs in an IB course or IB -related project/IA/EA/etc, there may be additional consequences that occur.

Students should pay close attention to any contract they sign related to an IB class or program. 

1. Teacher initiates the process

• Speaks to student about what was observed
• Informs the student that they will be making an Academic Integrity Policy violation submission
• Sends link to the student response google form and gives them a paper copy of the “Notification of Suspected Violation”  in their home language to take home to their family
• Notifies student of the 2 day deadline for submission of the google form
• Contacts parents by phone or email 

2. Student completes the student response google form

• The student will describe their perspective about what the teacher observed
• The student will indicate whether they ACCEPT, or CONTEST, that their actions violated the Academic Integrity Policy.  

3. Once teacher and student forms are received

• The administrator overseeing AIP will check to see if the student ACCEPTS that they have violated the policy. If they do, an email will be sent to the teacher and the student, outlining the decision and the consequence(s) that should be applied.
• If the student CONTESTS the violation, the administrator overseeing AIP will present the information on the google forms to the AIP Council with personal information removed. The AIP Council will make a decision and an email will be sent to the teacher and the student, outlining the decision outcome and the consequence(s) that should be applied.

4. Once a teacher received the outcome decision email, they will:

• Submit a behavior referral in SIS
• Contact the parent to communicate the decision made by the AIP administrator/council

5. Appeals

• If the student or parent wants to appeal the decision, they must email  @email   and a request for appeal will be forwarded to the Principal. The principal will make a final decision. 

The AIP council will have nine members with representation across multiple departments and programs. A quorum at AIP meetings will consist of five members. 

The Principal will appoint members. 

AIP council  members will:

• Make decisions about the outcomes for violations in which the student contests the violation. Decisions will be based on submitted information via the google forms.
• Review google forms and evidence with redacted personally identifiable information
• Maintain strict confidentiality around conversations and decisions made in meetings
• Failure to maintain confidentiality will result in removal from the council
• Serve for one academic year

AIP council members will not:

• Make amendments to the Academic Integrity Policy or process. Any concerns regarding suggested improvements or needed adjustments to the policy will be emailed by the group to the Principal.
• Keep any personal notes about AIP council decisions