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[XiaNaphryz]

High schooler booted from honors class, parents claim youth's due process was violated:

The parents of a sophomore at Sequoia High School in Redwood City have sued the district for kicking the student out of an honors English class last month for copying a classmate's homework.

The lawsuit, filed April 18 in San Mateo County Superior Court, claims the teenager's due process rights were violated. It names as defendants the Sequoia Union High School District, District Superintendent James Lianides and Sequoia High School Principal Bonnie Hansen.

The sophomore had signed an "Academic Honesty Pledge" at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year that declares cheating is grounds for immediate removal from the advanced-level program; his mother also had signed it. According to the lawsuit, however, another school document states that a student will be removed from the program only after a second plagiarism offense.

The boy's father, Jack Berghouse, does not dispute that his son copied his English homework from another student, who also was kicked out of the honors class for the offense. But Berghouse said he believes the punishment is disproportionate to the offense and will jeopardize his son's academic future.

"He knows it's wrong," Berghouse said Tuesday. "You cannot imagine the mental and emotional penalty that has been inflicted upon him. He is a student who has a chance to do just about anything, and he thinks that this could take that away from him. We've offered several penalties, anything other than being kicked out of the English program."

The parents suggested, for example, that their son could work as an after-school teacher's assistant for the rest of the school year, Berghouse said.

According to the lawsuit, the school's policies regarding punishment for cheating are vague and contradictory, so should not be enforced.

In a March 19 letter from Lianides to Berghouse, the superintendent acknowledges that a second document, attached to the honesty pledge, refers to an "old two-strikes policy" and should have been updated. But the signed pledge "clearly states that any incident of cheating or plagiarism will result in the student removal from the class with no exceptions," he wrote.

The sophomore was enrolled in a program for freshmen and sophomores called the International College Advancement Program, or ICAP, designed by the high school to prepare students for a demanding academic curriculum offered to juniors and seniors called the International Baccalaureate program.

Noting he could not specifically comment on the student or the lawsuit, Lianides said in an email Wednesday that the "rigorous academic" program comes with high expectations.

"Students that successfully complete the full program as juniors and seniors are awarded a special diploma at graduation and typically gain admission to very competitive universities," Lianides wrote.

"If cheating or plagiarism is not strongly discouraged, then it will reward students who do not follow the rules, devalue the diploma, and take away from the students that put in the long hours and hard work necessary to earn the special recognition that comes with an International Baccalaureate diploma."

After the copying incident, the student and his mother were told during a March 5 meeting at the school that he would be removed from the sophomore ICAP English class for cheating and get an "F," according to the suit. In addition, they were told the student would not be allowed into the International Baccalaureate English classes when he became an upperclassman, that the offense would be noted in the program's record, and that he would be denied the special diploma.

The next day, Sequoia Principal Hansen informed the family that the punishment had been reduced due to a "loophole," according to the lawsuit, and that the student would be allowed to participate in the International Baccalaureate program after all, with no mention of the cheating on his record. But he would still be left out of the advanced studies sophomore English class.

The family rejected the offer.

Several school officials, including Lianides, told the family they didn't have the right to appeal and denied their request for a school board review of the dispute, according to the lawsuit.

The family is still trying to get their son back into the class, although the school year ends June 8. A preliminary injunction motion to temporarily halt the punishment will be heard on May 17, Berghouse said.

"I'm doing this for the other kids at Sequoia," he said.

 

[Deified Data]

Cheating policies should be strict and enforced to the letter.

Not cheating is the easiest thing in the world to do.

 

[DrForester]

Screw this dad, should have taught your child not to cheat and do his own work.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

"I'm doing this for the other kids at Sequoia," he said.

Yes kids, its ok if you cheat just once.

 

[DR3AM]

The boy's father, Jack Berghouse, does not dispute that his son copied his English homework from another student

:/

 

[Zoe]

There were notorious cheaters in my year's IB class, but the teachers wouldn't do anything about it. Don't know why they didn't do anything, but it pissed me off >:|

 

[darthbob]

Can't abide cheaters.

 

[B.K.]

I'll never understand why some parents think their children are so special that the rules don't apply to them.

There were notorious cheaters in my year's IB class, but the teachers wouldn't do anything about it. Don't know why they didn't do anything, but it pissed me off >:|

EVERYONE cheated in the Spanish classes at my highschool. It didn't help that all the teacher did was assign us busy work from the textbook and expect us to become fluent. I'm pretty sure I was the only person in the class that didn't cheat and my grades really showed it. I barely passed the classes.

 

[echoshifting]

You actually had to get caught plagiarizing twice at this school to be removed from the program?

 

[Adam Blade]

Once a cheating scumbag, always a cheating scumbag.

 

[Zutroy]

Kinda on the side of the parents. I mean fair enough if it was a test he was cheating on, but for homework, seems harsh. Fail him, make him do it again, punish him somehow, but don't fuck him over for homework.

[E] Also, I'm not American so I have no clue where he actually is in his education. I'm guessing 14/15 though?

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

One of the co-valedictorians in my class in high school cried to get her teacher to change her grade to a higher version. That made me mad.

 

[The Technomancer]

This sounds bizarrely hardcore, like what I'd expect from college. I was an honors and AP student in one of the better public schools in my state, and it was still pretty laid back overall.

 

[Jarmel]

I'll never understand why some parents think their children are so special that the rules don't apply to them.

If you read the OP, the parents do have grounds. Not something most people would argue about though.

 

[Escape Goat]

what jeopardized his sons academic future (if anything did) wasn't getting kicked out it was THE CHEATING.

 

[Jarmel]

Kinda on the side of the parents. I mean fair enough if it was a test he was cheating on, but for homework, seems harsh. Fail him, make him do it again, punish him somehow, but don't fuck him over for homework.

[E] Also, I'm not American so I have no clue where he actually is in his education. I'm guessing 14/15 though?

I've seen it happen in college and all the people got were very strict warnings. It was math though and not English.

 

[Big-E]

When I catch kids plagiarizing, I always let them redo it and get a second chance because I don't want to deal with the parents shit storm.

 

[Devolution]

So many of my peers (honor roll) students were cheating to get the best possible grades, and the rest were cheating to just pass.

 

[WanderingWind]

what jeopardized his sons academic future (if anything did) wasn't getting kicked out it was THE CHEATING.

And surely, drawing national attention to the fact that you're a cheater is an excellent way for his academic future to proceed.

 

[Deified Data]

The school should shoulder part of the blame here. Not for the cheating, but for the controversy in general. They have a cheating policy set in place - cheat once and you're done. There realy shouldn't be any loopholes in something so simple. Kid deserves to be punished to the fullest extent, but the school was stupid not to cover their ass on something so basic. Why would they have anything in their rules about second chances when it comes to cheating?

 

[roodiculous]

Easiest thing to do would have been not to cheat. Now they have to go through this whole fiasco because of the kid. No one wins in the end.

Unless they award a huge cash lump sum to the family.

 

[Evlar]

Wonder what these kids do when they get to a job and work on problems that have no textbook solution.

 

[WedgeX]

what jeopardized his sons academic future (if anything did) wasn't getting kicked out it was THE CHEATING.

Seriously.

This is like a kid at my school who was drunk and crashed her car. She got kicked off Students Against Drunk Driving. Her parents sued. She remained president of the club.

 

[Adam Blade]

One of the co-valedictorians in my class in high school cried to get her teacher to change her grade to a higher version. That made me mad.

Maybe we went to the same high school. :x

 

[kswiston]

Seems harsh to kick a child out of the program over copied homework. I would have just weighted the homework at 10-20% and made the majority of the student's mark come from tests, assignments, and group work. In my experience, the kids who copy their homework from a friend on a regular basis rarely do well in other assessments.

 

[Dali]

I'll never understand why some parents think their children are so special that the rules don't apply to them.

Because some think the same of themselves? Case in point: Never fails somewhere in a long line of people waiting for some service some asshole thinks they are entitled to be the next person helped. The think they are in some way special and waiting in lines is beneath them I guess. Never fails.

 

[Lord_Byron28]

At my school students were written up, with saturday detention and/or suspension if caught cheating. They'd also get automatic zeroes on the work, obviously. However, most teachers were oblivious or chose to ignore it.

 

[antonz]

Wonder what these kids do when they get to a job and work on problems that have no textbook solution.

Since they tend to be silver spoon kids they end up running banks etc and we know how good Banks are at cheating

 

[shira]

what jeopardized his sons academic future (if anything did) wasn't getting kicked out it was THE CHEATING.

Cheating is such a silly term.

Besides if you don't have the balls to break/bend the rules then you can't be a politician/investment banker/lawyer.

 

[roodiculous]

Seems harsh to kick a child out of the program over copied homework. I would have just weighted the homework at 10-20% and made the majority of the student's mark come from tests, assignments, and group work. In my experience, the kids who copy their homework from a friend on a regular basis rarely do well in other assessments.

I agree to an extent especially if its the first offense but every school has their own rules and policies. Unfortunately this school messed up by not revising the loophole rule.

 

[Dali]

Cheating is such a silly term.

Besides if you don't have the balls to break/bend the rules then you can't be a politician/investment banker/lawyer.

Maybe this is the first step to not letting crooked fucks excel and become successful.

 

[Angry Grimace]

If you get caught cheating in high school, you're pretty bad at cheating.

 

[ThanksVision]

I only find cheating offensive if it's a test/quiz/essay—things like that. A quick homework assignment (especially something that came from an Honors class lol)? I'll let a peer copy. Not a big deal in that case. Like everything else, it's all about circumstance.

 

[WanderingWind]

God bless the enablers and the morally weak.

 

[Tuck]

If it was his firs offense, he probably should have just gotten a zero. Next time kicked out.

 

[xbhaskarx]

"I'm doing this for the other kids at Sequoia," he said.

LOL

 

[cool_trainer]

One of the co-valedictorians in my class in high school cried to get her teacher to change her grade to a higher version. That made me mad.

My friend did this in high school so he could have one grade better than me to be Salutatorian. Not cool.

 

[Omega]

"He knows it's wrong," Berghouse said Tuesday. "You cannot imagine the mental and emotional penalty that has been inflicted upon him."

Oh please give me a fucking break. He knows it's wrong yet he did it and anyone who cheats has cheated before and most likely will continue to. Whether in school or life.

You signed an agreement that said if you get caught cheating, it's an immediate removal. I really hope a judge doesn't rule in favor of them just because the school has some other rule. If you signed a contract, you should honor it.

The fact that something like this can even be disputed is absolute nonsense. If you cheat, that should make you ineligible for any honors classes. Oh, but that's not a contradiction according to the parents.

Shit like this is why I never took school serious.

 

[Jarmel]

My friend did this in high school so he could have one grade better than me to be Salutatorian. Not cool.

I like this man. Spite your friends.

 

[RELAYER]

"He knows it's wrong," Berghouse said Tuesday. "You cannot imagine the mental and emotional penalty that has been inflicted upon him."

Yeah, I'm sure it's totally beyond my comprehension.
Kid should become a novelist after his ordeal in order to share his story with the world.

 

[tino]

Can anyone make a "This is Neogaf' animated gif but with "AMERICA" in the end?

 

[KevinCow]

Wait, for homework? I mean someone cheats on a test, punish the shit out of them, but come on. The vast majority of homework is busywork. The test is what matters.

Copying homework happened all the time when I was in school. "Oh shit, I didn't finish last night's homework, can I see yours?" It doesn't mean you're gonna cheat when it actually matters.

 

[Alrus]

Well I never really understood what a Honors class was (I'm not american) but I suppose it's important for college application?

To be fair, if it was just some homework, it's a little harsh. I know very few high school students who never copied a homework once. It's not like he was in college or university after all.

Seriously.

This is like a kid at my school who was drunk and crashed her car. She got kicked off Students Against Drunk Driving. Her parents sued. She remained president of the club.

Hahaha no way?

On a side note, at my university, if you're caught cheating, at best you'll get a zero for your class which you then have to retake during the summer (unless you cheated for that summer class then you fail your entire year). At worst you're expelled from the university for 5 years.

 

[DonasaurusRex]

...how the fuck do you get caught on homework...i can see a test...but homework or a paper? must've been a last minute thing..damn your supposed to be in the AP class kid.

 

[Devolution]

Well I never really understood what a Honors class was (I'm not american) but I suppose it's important for college application?

To be fair, if it was just some homework, it's a little harsh. I know very few high school students who never copied a homework once. It's not like he was in college or university after all.

Honors, AP and IB are more rigorous classes that raise your weighted GPA by a point. Plus they look better on transcripts.

...how the fuck do you get caught on homework...i can see a test...but homework or a paper? must've been a last minute thing..damn your supposed to be in the AP class kid.

Since it was English I'm guessing the same essay answers.

 

[Xyrmellon]

And surely, drawing national attention to the fact that you're a cheater is an excellent way for his academic future to proceed.

This. "Oh, you're the cheating kid with the overbearing parents?"

ADMISSION REJECTED.

 

[Futureman]

Seriously.

This is like a kid at my school who was drunk and crashed her car. She got kicked off Students Against Drunk Driving. Her parents sued. She remained president of the club.

NO way. Since the parents sued, there's gotta be a news story online about this? Please share. That's insane if you aren't lying haha.

As for the kid, even though it was just homework, fuck HIM. He signed an agreement that explicity spelled out what would happen if he cheated and he cheated. Deal with the consequences. Like someone said, maybe there'd be less shady lawyers/politicians/whatever if people couldn't just sue their way out of cheating.

 

[Deified Data]

This. "Oh, you're the cheating kid with the overbearing parents?"

ADMISSION REJECTED.

Kid will get what's coming to him whether his parents succeed in their lawsuit or not. Nice to know.

 

[jtb]

One of the co-valedictorians in my class in high school cried to get her teacher to change her grade to a higher version. That made me mad.

Cheating is a skill (well, cheating and getting away with it... ) that I can respect. Bitches crying for pity grade increases, now that shit makes my fucking blood boil.

 

[vicissitudes]

Shit like this is why I never took school serious seriously.

I can tell.