Academic Integrity Policy

Purpose and Philosophy

Ybarra Academy of the Arts and Technology believes the purpose of academic integrity is to nurture a culture of honesty, responsibility, trust, fairness, and respect for oneself and others. It empowers students to become principled learners who take ownership of their education, demonstrate ethical behavior, and respect the contributions of others. 

Ybarra Academy’s philosophy aligns with the belief of our district that personal integrity is fundamental to a student’s education and character development. It is aligned with the IB mission to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring individuals. By embedding academic integrity into Ybarra’s culture, we teach students to value and respect intellectual property. 

Academic integrity is essential because it helps teachers accurately assess what students know and understand, thus allowing them to guide instruction and support student learning effectively. It promotes trust between students and teachers and ensures fairness in how learning is evaluated and recognized. Academic integrity prepares students to make principled decisions and contribute positively, both within and beyond the classroom.

Roles and Responsibilities

Academic integrity is a shared responsibility among students, parents/guardians, and teachers. By working together, we ensure that students develop the skills and mindset to complete their work to the best of their ability. Students will also express their own ideas and thinking and give proper credit to the sources they use. 

Students:

• Complete their own work and assessments that reflects their personal understanding, effort, and abilities

• Use their own ideas and perspectives to create original work

• Give credit to authors, creators, and resources by properly citing all sources of information, ideas, or media used in their work

• Understand and explain information in their own words rather than copying it directly

• Work responsibly in group projects by contributing fairly and recognizing and respecting others' work

• Maintain the trust of peers and teachers by ensuring all work is authentically theirs

• Use technology and AI ethically and appropriately, ensuring their work is a true reflection of their understanding

• Learn and follow grade-level citation practices

Teachers: 

• Teach age-appropriate research skills

• Model summarizing and paraphrasing skills

• Guide students in understanding what constitutes as their own work

• Explicitly teach students how to create bibliographies, use citations, and properly credit sources at appropriate grade levels

• Model academic integrity in their own practice

• Clearly communicate academic integrity expectations to students and parents at the beginning of the year and throughout the course of the school year

• Establish a classroom culture based on fairness by applying academic integrity consistently

• Integrate RUSD’s digital citizenship lessons into the curriculum

• Guide students on the ethical use of technology, including AI, to ensure their work is their own

• Respond to academic misconduct and provide consistent feedback on their academic integrity practices

• Create opportunities for students to improve on their learning

Parents:

• Be knowledgeable about the academic integrity policy

• Support integrity and responsibility by emphasizing the importance of honesty in their academic work

• Reinforce the importance of fairness by encouraging their student to complete their own work and earn their achievements honestly and seek help when needed

• Refrain from doing their child’s work, providing answers, and editing assignments, to make sure the work reflects their child’s effort and understanding

• Support the school’s efforts to enforce academic integrity by modeling trustworthy behavior and promoting ethical choices at home

Strategies for Promoting Academic Integrity

Strategies should promote academic integrity by teaching, modeling, and reinforcing honesty while providing students with skills and confidence to approach their work honestly. Some strategies at Ybarra include but are not limited to:

• Explicitly teaching skills through grade-level appropriate lessons

• Teachers modeling proper citation and giving credit to resources during lessons

• Teachers sharing examples of honest and dishonest academic behavior

• Highlight/celebrate student work that reflects integrity

• Use grade-appropriate citation tools

• Teach digital literacy, including ethical use of AI tools and online resources

• Students self-assess their work for originality and proper citation

• Provide regular reminders before assignments/projects and offer feedback during the process

• Teachers observe students during independent and group work to ensure academic integrity and then provide feedback on paraphrasing, citing sources, and group collaboration

• Encourage open communication between students and teachers to build trust, especially when students face challenges and need support rather than shortcuts

• During group work require students to write their names next to their work or color-code to differentiate individual contributions

• Have student present their own portion of a group project to demonstrate their understanding and effort

• Develop clear rubrics and success criteria so students understand what is expected, promoting fairness in grading and feedback

• Assign specific roles to each student in group projects to ensure accountability

• Clearly communicate test expectations and the importance of academic honesty before every assessment

Responsible Use Policies for Technology

Rowland Unified School District Responsible Use Policy (RUP) for Technology TK-2nd Grade

Rowland Unified School District Responsible Use Policy (RUP) for Technology 3rd-5th Grade

Rowland Unified School District Responsible Use Policy (RUP) for Technology 6th-12th Grade

Procedures for Academic Misconduct

Prevention: 

• Regularly discuss academic integrity

• Explicitly teach research and citation skills at every grade level

• Develop and communicate clear guidelines for group work

• Provide ongoing communication with families about expectations

Consequences for academic dishonesty are designed to restore trust and reaffirm the importance of fairness in our learning community. Each offense is followed by reteaching to ensure that students understand how their actions affect not just themselves, but the entire school’s culture of integrity.

PBIS Discipline Process for Academic Integrity

1. First Offense: The teacher will reteach the principles of academic integrity, ensuring the student understands the importance of honesty and how to apply it in their work. Teacher will complete the “First Minor Behavioral Referral.” The student may be required to redo the assignment or task.

2. Second Offense: Academic integrity principles will be retaught, focusing on areas of improvement for the student, including modeling and providing feedback. There may be classroom consequences such as loss of privileges or reflective activity. The teacher will contact the parent by note or phone call to discuss the behavior and steps being taken. Teacher will complete the “Second Minor Behavioral Referral.”

3. Third Offense: The teacher will continue to reteach and reinforce the academic integrity principles with a more intensive focus on helping the student understand the impact of their actions. A phone call home will discuss the repeated offenses and importance of resolving the issue. The teacher will complete the “Third Minor Behavioral Referral,” which must be signed by parent/guardian. There may be additional classroom consequences. 

4. Fourth Offense: The student will receive a “Major Office Discipline Referral” and will be sent to the office. Administration will determine appropriate consequences. Administration will follow up with parents/guardians to discuss the incident and next steps. 

Communicating the Academic Integrity Policy

The Academic Integrity Policy is communicated to the school community in various ways, including the official school website, Ybarra’s IB website, School Site Council meetings, Coffee with the Principal meetings, Back to School Night, and ELAC meetings.  It is at these various meetings that the school community members are invited to attend as well as to reflect upon and give feedback on the policy.

Academic Integrity Review

This policy is integrated into the curriculum and will be reviewed annually as a staff. It can be found on the Ybarra Academy Website.