BENTONVILLE -- School District officials said they are taking new measures to emphasize to students the importance of academic integrity.
Their effort starts with a policy the School Board and district administrators have discussed several times over the past year. The policy has been revised a couple of times with feedback from the board.
Academic integrity
The Bentonville School District’s proposed revision to its academic integrity policy outlines specific examples of conduct deemed unacceptable. They include:
*Cheating
*Fabrication or falsification
*Plagiarism
*Facilitating academic misconduct
*Tampering with materials, grades or records
*Violation of copyright laws
Source: Staff report
The latest proposed version of the policy, which the board likely will consider adopting next week, states a student caught cheating or plagiarizing will be placed on academic probation and could lose honors status, even after a first offense. Both consequences would be new to the district's policy.
The student also will be required to demonstrate subject mastery through an alternative assignment immediately after the offense is discovered.
The student's parents or guardians would be notified and the student would be placed on the step discipline plan no lower than step four -- four days of detention, a Saturday suspension or a day of in-school suspension. These were the only two consequences listed in the policy that has been in effect until now.
The step plan is a set of 10 disciplinary steps of increasing severity, ranging from one day of detention to 10 days of suspension and the possibility of expulsion.
The proposed policy also lists consequences for a second violation of academic integrity. They include all first-offense consequences, plus the student would be advanced on the step plan and a meeting would be arranged with the student's parents.
Most of the board seemed to be satisfied with the proposed policy, but board member Grant Lightle said he thought the language still wasn't tough enough.
"This doesn't get me to where I need to be on this at all," Lightle said Wednesday, during a meeting to review changes to a wide range of policies. "I'm just very concerned that different kids will get treated differently."
The revised policy allows administrators to determine what level of discipline is applied and whether honors or high honors status is stripped from a student.
Administrators responded to Lightle's concerns, saying that kind of discretion is necessary because every allegation of cheating comes with different circumstances that deserve consideration.
Bentonville High School Principal Jack Loyd added, "If it is a blatant infraction, I'm in favor of pulling honors. First time."
"I want you to feel empowered to do that," Lightle said. "Because you're going to get pressure from families."
Judy Marquess, director of instruction for grades seven through 12, acknowledged during a board meeting earlier this month the high school has a problem with academic integrity.
"I think we take the wrong approach when we say the only way to address it is through policy and punishment. I've talked with my team about things we can do next year to be proactive and preventative. It's about kids and we want to teach them the right thing to do, and the approach I think is an educational approach," Marquess said.
Administrators said they will ask students to sign the academic integrity policy at the beginning of the year. It will be included in the student handbook. Debbie Jones, interim superintendent, said principals have been made aware the issue must be a priority.
A Bentonville High School student who was a senior this past year told the board in January it's "ridiculous" how much cheating goes on at the high school.
"I think it's because the disciplinary actions aren't where they need to be," said David Nichols, who was the 2015-16 student council president. "Because colleges will kick you out if you cheat. You'll get a few days of detention at (Bentonville High School)."
NW News on 06/16/2016