Skip To Main Content

Academic Integrity

                                                         Georgetown Independent School District

                                                          GUIDELINES ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Georgetown ISD Policy: EIA (Local) – A student found to have engaged in academic dishonesty shall be subject to grade penalties in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct. Academic dishonesty includes cheating or copying the work of another student, plagiarism, and unauthorized communication between students during an examination. The determination that a student has engaged in academic dishonesty should be based on a review of the evidence and the judgment of the classroom teacher and/or another supervising professional employee, taking into consideration written materials, observation, or information from students.

GISD believes that it is our responsibility to develop future-ready leaders who take personal responsibility in their learning. Academic integrity is the core set of values that supports our students’ pursuit and success in reaching this outcome.

This guideline applies to any and all student experiences in which academic credit may be earned. Parents are asked to sign an acknowledgment that they have received and reviewed the GISD Student Code of Conduct as part of their enrollment packet. The SCOC states that students shall not engage in academic dishonesty. In addition to GISD academic student experiences, these guidelines apply to all State assessments.


Academic Integrity - Students are responsible for learning and upholding ethical academic standards of research, writing, assessment, and coursework. Written or other work which students submit must be the product of their own efforts and must be consistent with appropriate standards of academic ethics. Academic dishonesty, which includes cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of dishonesty or unethical behavior, is strictly prohibited. A breakdown of behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty is presented below. The list is not comprehensive or all-inclusive. Questions regarding these guidelines should be directed to the
campus principal.

Students may also be asked to certify on assignments/major projects/exams that the work submitted is 100% the work of the student submitting the material for a grade. Students will be asked to acknowledge “I have acted with honesty and integrity in producing this work and I am unaware of anyone who has not”.

Academic dishonesty includes:

Cheating on Academic Work - Cheating is using or attempting to use materials, information, notes, study aids, or other assistance which have not been authorized by the instructor in any type of examination or evaluation.

Clarification:

  1.  Students completing any type of examination or evaluation are prohibited from looking at another student’s materials and from using external aids of any sort (e.g., cell phones, books, notes, calculators, and conversation with others) unless the instructor has indicated specifically in advance that this will be allowed.
  2. Students may not take examinations or evaluations in the place of other persons. Students may not allow other persons to take examinations or evaluations in their places.
  3. Students may not acquire unauthorized information about an examination or evaluation and may not use any such information improperly acquired by others.
  4. Students may not in whole or part share information regarding tests or assignments (including homework) with other students, through any means, unless prior approval is given by the teacher.

Plagiarism - Plagiarism is intentionally or carelessly presenting the work of another as one’s own. It includes submitting an assignment purporting to be the student’s original work that has wholly or in part been created by another person or persons. It also includes the presentation of the work, ideas, representations, or words of another person or persons without customary and proper acknowledgment of sources. Students must consult with their instructors for clarification in any situation in which the need for documentation is an issue;
students will have plagiarized in any situation in which their work is not properly documented. This prohibition includes but is not limited to, the use of books, papers, reports, projects, and other such materials prepared by someone else.

Clarification:

  1. Every direct quotation must be identified by quotation marks or appropriate indentation and must be properly acknowledged by parenthetical citation in the text or in a footnote or endnote.
  2. When material from another source is paraphrased or summarized in whole or in part in one’s own words, that source must be acknowledged in a footnote or endnote, or by parenthetical citation in the text.
  3. Information gained in reading or research that is not common professional knowledge must be acknowledged in a parenthetical citation in the text or in a footnote or endnote.

Fabrication, Forgery and Obstruction - Fabrication is the use of invented, counterfeited, altered or forged information in assignments of any type including those activities done in conjunction with academic courses that require students to be involved in out of classroom experiences. Forgery is the imitating or counterfeiting of images, documents, signatures, and the like. Obstruction is any behavior that limits the academic opportunities of other students by improperly impeding their work or their access to educational resources.

Clarification:

  1. Fabricated or forged information may not be used in any laboratory experiment, report of research, or academic exercise. Invention for artistic purposes is legitimate under circumstances explicitly authorized by an instructor.
  2. Students may not furnish to instructors fabricated work.
  3. Students may not furnish, or attempt to furnish, fabricated, forged or misleading information to campus officials.
  4. Students may not steal, change, or destroy another student’s work. Students may not impede the work of others by the theft, defacement, or mutilation of resources so as to deprive others of their use.

Complicity - Complicity is assisting or attempting to assist another person in any act of academic dishonesty.

Clarification:

  1. Students may not allow other students to copy from their papers during any type of examination.
  2. Students may not assist other students in acts of academic dishonesty by providing material of any kind that one may have reason to believe will be misrepresented to a teacher.
  3. Students may not provide substantive information about test questions or the material to be tested before a scheduled examination unless they have been specifically authorized to do so by the teacher.

Computer Misuse - Misuse of computers may be disruptive, unethical, or illegal. This includes any actions which violate the GISD Technology Acceptable Use Plan.

Clarification:

  1. Students may not use the district’s computer systems in support of any act of plagiarism.
  2. Students may not monitor or tamper with another person’s electronic communications.
  3. Students may not use district computer resources to engage in illegal activity, including but not limited to the following: illegally accessing other computer systems, exchanging stolen information, or violating copyright agreements which involve software or any other protected material.

Sanctions for Violations of the GISD Guidelines on Academic Integrity
Procedures:
Conference with the Student - A conference between the student and the instructor is the
first, and may be the only, step in addressing alleged violations of the Guidelines on Academic
Integrity. If the teacher has reason to believe that a student has committed a violation of the
Guidelines on Academic Integrity, the teacher shall contact the student to notify the student of
the suspected violation of the Guidelines on Academic Integrity.
After completing the above process, the teacher will complete a disciplinary referral and
submit to the campus principal/assistant principal; however, he or she may note on the
referral that No Further Action is required. This referral will remain as part of the student’s
discipline file. The teacher will contact the student’s parents.
Serious and persistent violations will be addressed by the campus administrator. Academic
consequences will include a disciplinary referral and parent phone call. Additional sanctions
may also be added, such as a reduction of the grade or a zero grade. Teachers will follow the
Georgetown ISD Board-adopted Grading Guidelines posted at
https://www.georgetownisd.org/Page/486. The teacher’s determination regarding academic
dishonesty can be appealed by the student to their associate/assistant/campus principal.
Disciplinary/Teacher Actions (may include, but are not limited to):
● Opportunity to re-do assignment with a grade reduction
● Detention
● Noted on discipline record
● Saturday Detention
● Conference with the Assistant Principal
Administration
Sanctions for Violations of the GISD Guidelines on Academic Integrity - Sanctions by the
administration may include more severe consequences and could include sanctions such as
removal (or suspension) from organizations such as the National Honor Society, Student
Council, or other student leadership positions. Actions that involve collusion and/or theft of
tests or teaching materials may result in suspension or other disciplinary actions to be
determined by the building administrators. A pattern of cheating behavior may result in
suspension or assignment to the DAEP. Principal decisions regarding academic dishonesty
cannot be appealed beyond the campus level.
The administration will follow the Georgetown ISD Code of Conduct for disciplinary actions,
listed below and found in the Georgetown ISD Student Code of Conduct at
www.georgetownisd.org:
● Verbal correction, oral or written.
● Cooling-off time or a brief “time-out” period, in accordance with law.
● Seating changes within the classroom or vehicles owned or operated by the district.
● Temporary confiscation of items that disrupt the educational process.
● Rewards or demerits.
● Behavioral contracts.
● Counseling by teachers, school counselors, or administrative personnel.
● Parent-teacher conferences.
● Behavior coaching.
● Anger management classes.
● Mediation (victim-offender).
● Classroom circles.
● Family group conferencing.
● Grade reductions for cheating, plagiarism, and as otherwise permitted by policy.
● Detention, including outside regular school hours.
● Sending the student to the office, another assigned area, or to in-school suspension.
● Assignment of school duties, such as cleaning or picking up litter.
● Withdrawal of privileges, such as participation in extracurricular activities, eligibility for
seeking and holding honorary offices, or membership in school-sponsored clubs and
organizations.
● Penalties identified in student organizations’ extracurricular standards of behavior.
● Restriction or revocation of district transportation privileges.
● School-assessed and school-administered probation.
● Out-of-school suspension, as specified in Out-of-School Suspension.
● Placement in a DAEP, as specified in DAEP.
● Expulsion and/or placement in an alternative educational setting, as specified in Placement
and/or Expulsion for Certain Offenses.
● Expulsion, as specified in Expulsion.
● Referral to an outside agency or legal authority for criminal prosecution in addition to
disciplinary measures imposed by the district.
● Other strategies and consequences as determined by school officials.
(Other actions may include, but are not limited to):
● Grade reduction
● Disqualification from any honor society or student leadership class/course
● Conference with the Principal
● Zero for task with no opportunity to re-do assignment
● Notification of parent, counselor
● Noted on discipline record
● Loss of grade special privileges indefinitely
● No opportunity to take the AP exam if that class is an AP class
● Denial of membership in Honor organizations and inability to be awarded school or
local scholarships or class awards
● Denial of honors or AP course weighting
● Possible police notification if vandalism has occurred in these actions
Appeal of an Informal Proceeding
A student sanctioned for violation of the Guidelines on Academic Integrity may appeal the
teacher’s decision. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the teacher and to the campus
principal not later than three (3) business days after the student has been notified of the
teacher’s decision. The 3-day timeline begins when the parent is notified. An appeal is made by
submitting a written statement of appeal to the teacher and the principal within the time limit.
The written statement of appeal must state the name of the person appealing, the basis of the
appeal, the name of the teacher making the decision, and the remedy sought. The principal
will respond in writing within five (5) days to the person appealing the teacher’s decision. The
principal’s decision will be final.