HS student kicked out of honors class for cheating; parents sue

http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_20481609/parents-sue-district-kicking-son-out-sequoia-high

A high school sophomore was kicked out of his honors English class for copying another student's homework. He had signed an honor code before the class began spelling out the consequences. According to the code, he was supposed to be kicked out of the international baccalaureate program as a junior and senior, but the school relented and said he only had to be out of this class and take an F. The parents sued, saying the punishment doesn't fit the crime. (They suggest he work as an after-school teacher's aide for the rest of the year.)

The hearing is set for May 17. School ends June 8.

 

Good. Now there will be dozens of articles on the web with this guy's name attached to cheating.

 

A nation of douchebags.

 

IB students are held to a higher standard. He cheated. Deal with it.
Did I cheat? Of course. Was I an IB student? Not by a long shot.

 

Unless it's an AP class, these kind of gussied-up honors programs are mainly designed to make public school parents think their kids will be getting an edge when it comes to colleges. If the parents were smart, they would have sent the kid to Serra.
They've done more damage to the kid than taking an F ever would have.

 

I find it humorous that the program involved is an honors English class, yet the school district has a confusing, contradictory policy about how many infractions would lead to expulsion from the program.
By leaving the "old two-strikes policy" in, the district left itself open to just such a situation.
The fact the student cheated is not in question, so punishment is warranted.
What the punishment should be, according to the school policy, is the question.

 

Was the punishment for this offense spelled out in advance? The parents just didn't like the consequences?

Well, I didn't like the sentence the judge gave me for my crime, either.

 

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_20493867/parents-who-sued-school-over-sons-punishment-cheating?source=most_viewed

Update: The dad explains that this might keep his son out of an Ivy League school.

"There is the possibility this will cause permanent harm. What university will it keep him out of? Will that have far-ranging consequences in what kind of job he can get?" Berghouse said.

No kidding. I don't think anyone has ever been successful in life who did not go to an Ivy League college for his or her undergraduate degree.

 

I note that nowhere in the parents' defense is any assertion that the kid didn't do it.

 

Dear Ivy League school,

Admit my son or I will sue.

Sincerely,

Helicopter Parent who would die of embarrassment if they had to put a public school's sticker on the back of their Volvo SUV.

 

Also note that he was one of four students caught, and the other three appear to have made peace with their punishment.

 

Working as intended.