VALLEY VISTA HIGH SCHOOL

ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY 2021-2022

Valley Vista High School promotes ethical and moral behavior for all students. Each student is responsible for his/her own work and actions. Grades given to a student by a Valley Vista High School instructor must reflect the individual student’s efforts, knowledge of the subject and skill level. Valley Vista High School is committed to maintaining an environment of academic honesty and does not want honest students put at a competitive disadvantage.

At Valley Vista High School, students complete assignments in class and as homework. Each student must do his/her own work. It is the student’s responsibility to follow the written as well as the oral directions given by the teacher for each assignment. Students are expected to notify their teacher, counselor or Principal of suspected acts of academic dishonesty.

Examples of Academic Dishonesty:

• Copying or accepting answers from another student or giving answers to another student.
• Utilizing technology or other materials in unauthorized ways on academic assignments and exams.
• Examining, taking or destroying another student’s completed assignment, either before or after it is graded.
• Before, during and after class assignment or test, using materials not allowed by the teacher.
• Copying answers from an answer key before attempting to do the assignment, and/or sharing assignment.
• Changing, altering or fabricating a grade or score.
• Turning in written work not in the student’s own handwriting.
• Completing online assignments for another student, or arranging to have another student complete online assignments.
• Committing plagiarism – taking ideas or writing from another person and offering them as your own without giving the author credit for the work including information obtained through the internet. Students must comply with the teacher’s instructions when doing research assignments.
• Theft or unauthorized access to an exam or other assignment.
• Stealing, tampering with or damaging school computers, files, disks, materials or any other school property.

Incidents of academic dishonesty are reported to the parents and the Principal. The students involved in the acts of academic dishonesty including the giver and the receiver will have consequences to their behavior. These could include the teacher assigning a lower grade or zero to an assignment, parent conference, removal from the class and change in schedule or program, community service, referral, detention, suspension, remediation strategies, denial of participation in student activities including special senior activities, transfer to another school or recommendation for expulsion, all as determined by the Principal.