Plagiarism
The DLS Student Handbook states that "lying, cheating or stealing" are major disciplinary offenses and will be subject to "disciplinary action by the school." The DLS faculty wants to spell out infractions and consequences of this as it relates to plagiarism in any classes. We think that this is critical for two reasons: 1. Plagiarism is a serious moral and academic offense and it impedes the learning process of the student; 2. Almost all colleges and universities have very serious consequences for plagiarism, and so we want our students to know what it is and how to avoid it.
What is plagiarism?
• Giving false data or information for a paper or a report
• Presenting information as your own which is not your own (this includes undocumented sources and also taking ideas from another student’s work)
• Discussing the contents of any tests or quizzes with other students who were not there
• Cheating on tests or quizzes (having access during the test to any information which is relevant to the test/talking to anyone during test/looking at another student’s desk)
• Copying homework or notes or outlines
• Copying vocabulary cards or workbook answers
• Copying lab work or lab reports (unless group work is specifically authorized by the teacher)
• Providing homework (or other material listed above) to another student.
The consequences for any plagiarism at DLS will be handled as follows:
Step 1:
The teacher will discuss the infraction with the student and contact the parents. The teacher will send a referral note to the administration. (If the administration sees the behavior repeated in other classes, subsequent discipline action will be taken.)
Steps 2 and 3:
Subsequent instances of plagiarism will be handled in accordance with discipline steps outlined in the Student Handbook. These steps include suspension and expulsion. The DLS faculty will be confidentially advised about any such disciplinary action.