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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]One of our neighbors kids has been referred to the Woodson Honor Council because a teacher said he was looking at his phone during a class assignment. [b]The kid admits to using the phone inappropriately but says he was not getting the answer from the phone. He has even turned over search history on the phone.[/b]

So my question is- why is Woodson one of the only FCPS schools with this "honor code" and "honor council"? He is going to get pulled in front of a panel of other students who will decide the merit of this and it could possibly go on his transcript. What kind of training do these other students have? I find this whole thing absurd for a public high school and feel bad for my neighbor.

Here is the policy: https://woodsonhs.fcps.edu/academics/honor-code[/quote]

He turned over the search history? Wow! /s
They cheat many different ways than using Google, you know. How many communication apps does a phone have?
This is why teachers are giving up. "Honor codes" don't mean much anymore because so many families have no honor. Cheating is ramped up exponentially from back in the day.[/quote]

To me, there are 2 entirely different issues occuring here.

1)  The cheating issue, and to a lesser extent the cell phone usage, are discipline issues which should be dealt with by the teacher (with admin support), or escalated up to the admin if this is a recurring issue for this particular kid.  There should be appropriate administrative consequences given by the adults on the payroll.  Perhaps a zero on the test for the cheating, and a detention for violating the phone policy (if that is the standard going forward for in class cell phone use.)

2)  The second issue (student honor court) is completely different and the OP is correct to be upset about it.  A student tribunal is a violation of the student's privacy rights,  [b]especially[/b] since this is an issue that impacts grades and potentially, [b]college admissions[/b]. A student court opens the kids (all of them, both on the court and off) up to bullying, retaliation, gossip, and opens the school to FERPA violations.  Did that parents give permission for their kids' discipline issues to be shared publicly with other students?  Are kids with IEPs or 504s for things like ADHD, aspergers, spectrum issues or impulse issue also subject to this peer court?  If they are not, while non IEP/504 kids are, this is a very unequal administration of school discipline.  How does the school ensure fairness for the kid being punished, or protection against retaliation for the kids on the tribunal?  What if there is a history between the kids of middle school bullying or neighborhood drama that the school is unaware of?  What if the honor court kids mention the case to one of their parents who happens to be the neighborhood gossip?  What kind of recourse and oversight do the parents and student have if they need to escalate the issue or if the issue eventually lands at lawsuit level (not improbable given that it is northern Virginia)? Do they have legal recourse against the students if the kid's ferpa rights are violated due to some kid on the honor court inadvertently gossiping about some student information that should be protected and private?

There are so many things wrong with a school using a student "honor court" to institute discipline that is solely the responsibility of the adults hired by FCPS and who are mandated to follow FERPA.

Punish the kid for cheating and having his phone out in class? Fine.

Abdicating the responsibility by using a bunch of kids to mete out punishment? Completely unacceptable. [/quote]
It's somewhat funny that you mention "college admissions," considering that honor code panels at most colleges and universities are comprised of a majority of fellow students.
[/quote]

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