Academic Integrity Policy
The Kenosha eSchool expects all students to uphold academic integrity. It is expected that all submitted work represents the original work of the student and should reflect the academic ability of the student. Violations of academic integrity are serious, may impact a student’s future career and academic plans, and will result in disciplinary action within eSchool.
Examples of intentional academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to:
- Plagiarism
- Copying and pasting work from another source without citation.
- Turning in another person’s (professional or peer) work and claiming ownership.
- Allowing another person to complete assigned work.
- Copying a source and changing a few words.
- Copyright infringement.
- Falsifying work.
- Cheating on a final exam.
- Student collaboration with others on assignments without instructors’ pre approval.
- Posting work or assignments to public websites or disseminating work to other students
in any form - Purchasing papers.
- Using an online translator for a foreign language course.
- Generally the use of Generative AI is prohibited (see AI policy for more information).
Students may never copy and paste work from AI and submit it as their original work.
*Any misuse of Generative AI tools (including plagiarism, unethical use, or violation of privacy guidelines) will be subject to disciplinary action. If the authenticity of a submission is in question, a teacher may require an alternate assessment to validate comprehension. This may include (but is not limited to) in-person assessment, written assessment, discussion-based assessment, etc. In instances where parents/guardians and students disagree with a teacher’s conclusion of the use of AI, the eSchool Principal will make the final determination.
The following procedure governs identification and discipline for instances of academic dishonesty:
Infraction #1 during an academic year within a teacher’s course(s)
Once a teacher has identified a violation of academic integrity the first time they will:
- Document the nature of the violation within assignment feedback.
- Contact the student via email or phone and review the academic misconduct.
- Reteach the student what constitutes academic dishonesty and the implications of further violations.
- The student will receive a zero grade for the assignment with the opportunity to redo their work for up to full credit.
Infraction #2 during an academic year within a teacher’s course(s)
Once a teacher has identified a violation of academic integrity the second time they will:
- Document the nature of the violation within assignment feedback.
- Contact the child’s guardian and inform them of the infraction and consequences. A parent meeting may be scheduled at this time to discuss the infraction.
- Document the incident as a disciplinary incident.
- The student will receive a zero grade for the assignment with the opportunity to redo their work for up to full credit.
Infraction #3 or more times during an academic year within a teacher’s course(s)
Once a teacher has identified a violation of academic integrity 3 or more times they will:
- Document the nature of the violation within assignment feedback.
- Issue a zero grade for the assignment without the opportunity to redo. This may result in failure of the class.
- Email the parent regarding the incident
- The student may be removed from the Kenosha eSchool program by the eSchool Principal.
Appeals for zero grades may be made to the eSchool Principal. In these cases, a meeting will be conducted with the parents, teacher and eSchool Administration. All appeals must be made within one week of notification of a zero grade. All decisions of the eSchool Principal will be final.
Repeated Infractions
Repeated infractions may be referred to the eSchool Principal for potential removal from the program. Repeated offenses will affect future eSchool application eligibility.
*If the student denies the violation, the parent will be notified and the teacher will provide evidence to support the allegation. Evidence can include links to websites that have been plagiarized, references to duplicated work, time and date stamps on assignments, inconsistency in quality of work, comprehension of concepts, etc.
* If the student, parent/guardian, and teacher are unable to resolve the issue, a meeting with the eSchool Principal will be required. The eSchool Principal will make a decision based on the evidence presented and will inform the teacher, student, and parent/guardian of the decision. All decisions made by the principal will be final.
*An academic integrity situation that compromises the accurate assessment of other students in the district, department, or classes (such as copying/taking pictures of exams and dispersing, sharing passwords, posting course material on open websites i.e. Course Hero, Brainly, etc.) will be dealt with through school administration. Such cases may result in the removal of the student from eSchool.
*eSchool Administration may require students to take finals in person when there are suspected academic integrity violations.
Inadvertent Cheating
In situations where the student may not understand that they were cheating (did not understand how to properly summarize/cite from a resource), teachers will reteach the proper procedure to avoid cheating and allow the student to reassess on the same or an alternate assessment. Students cannot claim ignorance for blatant cheating or multiple instances of improper citation.
Time to Complete a Course
Per eSchool’s Minimum Timeframe Policy, all students must be enrolled for a minimum of 15 school days in a non-credit recovery course to receive credit. Students work at their own pace to ensure a thorough understanding of the course material. While there is no exact or standardized timeframe for completing a course, any significant deviations from expected progress may be reviewed. In such cases, a teacher may require additional or alternate assessments to validate a student’s comprehension and academic integrity; these assessments may include, but are not limited to, in-person assessments, written assessments, or discussion-based assessments.
Students who refuse to participate in these assessments may be subject to course failure, and those who do not demonstrate adequate comprehension may be required to redo parts of the course or retake it entirely. Should parents/guardians or students disagree with a teacher’s conclusion, the eSchool Principal will make the final determination.