To maintain academic integrity at Falls Church High School, all students will avoid Cheating  –  gaining or receiving of unauthorized information; giving or gaining an unfair advantage. Fraud – deceiving others for personal gain (including copying, forgery, dishonesty, and falsifying data). Plagiarism – copying the language, structure, idea, and/or thought of another person and representing it as one's own original work; using information obtained from printed or electronic sources that are not appropriately cited

I. Guidelines

A. Student Responsibilities

To maintain and support the academic integrity of the school community by

• completing all assigned work, activities, and tests according to the stated policies without engaging in cheating, fraud, or plagiarism
• understanding the school-wide Honor Code and individual teacher assignment guidelines
• clarifying with the instructor any ambiguities about violations of the Honor Code on an assignment
• protecting individual work from use by other students unless teacher permission is specifically given
• signing designated assignments with the statement, “I have neither given nor received help on this assignment,” thereby asserting the integrity of the work
• checking all papers carefully for documentation and originality of thought 

B. Teacher Responsibilities

To maintain and support the academic integrity of the school community by

• clearly presenting the school-wide Honor Code and individual teacher guidelines, including specific guidelines for collaboration on assignments
• maintaining the integrity of the testing process through monitoring test taking, changing assignments from year to year, developing multiple versions of a test, as well as other methods
• utilizing a variety of resources to check for plagiarism and originality of thought
•  reporting any violation of the Honor Code to the parent and administrator

C. Administrator Responsibilities

To maintain and support the academic integrity of the school community by

• making the Falls Church High School Honor Code available to all students, teachers, and parents
• administering Honor Code violation consequences according to the guidelines, including parent conferences
• maintaining records of Honor Code violations

D. Parent/Guardian Responsibilities

To maintain and support the academic integrity of the school community by

• becoming knowledgeable of the Honor Code expectations
• attending conferences as requested

II. Implications

Students who violate the Honor Code in regards to cheating and plagiarizing must accept responsibility for their actions and the accompanying consequences.

Student Consequences:

1st Offense

• The student will re-do assignment for the purpose of demonstrating learning – 50% minimum credit.
• Administrator, counselor, and parent are notified by referral
• Conference with student, parent, dean, and teacher
• Violation entered into school record
• Possible removal from or ineligibility for honor society membership
• Honor Society officers are put on probation or removed from the position

2nd Offense

• No credit on assignment
• Administrator, counselor, and parent are notified by referral
• Conference with student, parent, and administrator
• 5-day activities suspension and 5 days administrative detention
• Students suspended from leadership positions (i.e. editors, class or club officers, team captains)
• Removal from or ineligibility for honor society membership

3rd Offense and Subsequent Offenses

• No credit on assignment
• Administrator, counselor, and parent are notified by referral
• Conference with student, parent, and principal
• 10-day activities suspension and 10 days of administrative detention
• Permanent removal from or ineligibility for honor society membership
• Colleges may be notified of the infraction
• Possible suspension from school

* All offenses are subject to principal intervention.

** If a student’s infraction of the Honor Code is egregious and has violated more than one aspect of the Honor Code, the student may be held accountable for a second or third offense.

***A special thanks to Chapel Hill High School, Mountain Lakes High School, and W.T. Woodson High School for allowing FCHS to use and modify their honor codes.