I agree with OP’s questioning of reading some work out as “lending”, especially as it does not seem to be defined in the rules. I assume this will be one of the things the lawyer will focus on. OP, hope you sort it out. I don’t think it’s at all realistic to expect high school students (or any students for that matter) to never ever share any details of anything about how they approached their assignments with anyone before it’s graded.
From what some people here are saying about “lending” being all encompassing, sounds like there should be a ban on kids ever being allowed to sit (or FaceTime these days) and do homework assignments together, as they have done for decades. Really?
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And trust me… we are adults. We know this will not matter in 10 years. I have explained that to her. She truly was trying to be a good friend and help her friend. She was betrayed by that friend it is a really hard thing for a 15 year old to process, especially considering the punishment.
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Maybe my next question should be how to help her mend this situation with the friend…
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I am thinking along the same lines - her friend appears to have been very stressed about the assignment. Maybe she procrastinated and it caught up with her, maybe her family puts a lot of stress on her about grades, maybe Covid is causing stress/depression or maybe she is just a 15 year old and didn’t think about it. I think everyone should show a bit of grace - including the school.
I would still want to see both papers and compare and then have a meeting with both families and school administrators.
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The issue is not before the work is graded; the issue is that the individual shared her work with another student prior to the due date of the assignment.
Since the two works were similar enough to raise plagiarism concerns, another issue is how did the second student get the first student’s work. Was it by theft or by some other means unknown to OP’s daughter ? Or was it willingly shared by OP’s daughter prior to the due date ?
This does not appear to be an exchange of ideas as in an intellectual discussion or debate. It was clear to both parties that one student had not worked on the assignment while the other had completed the assignment. What then was the purpose of sharing the completed work ?
In my opinion, you don’t want this reflected in her school record anywhere. The consequence of the grade is a separate matter. But really, in my opinion, you don’t want this mentioned anywhere on her transcript, counselor report or school record.
That is the outcome I would be aiming for.
My opinion.
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My daughters paper had already been done and graded, she didn’t share her paper prior to her turning it in. The other students paper was not done yet.
@thumper1: I agree. In order to engage in effective negotiations, all parties need to be realistic. In this situation as shared by OP, being realistic equates to gearing one’s efforts toward damage control because the pertinent facts seem clear.
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This is what happened in the situation with my students, they happily ate the grade to avoid the academic dishonesty being listed as a violation of disciplinary code (where you can get up to a 30 day superintendent suspension).
I am sorry that your daughter and your family are going through this. I know it is very stressful. I know a student that was wrongly accused (different circumstances than yours). You were wise to seek professional assistance in dealing with it.
I agree that it would not be difficult for the friend to type out what your daughter was reading word for word. That’s no different than how dictaphones were used.
It also doesn’t take much for those plagiarism programs to find a match. I have seen a report from one and it was identifying matches based on a 3-4 word string of common words in a longer sentence, not just if only 1-2 words were different (in that circumstance it was to internet sources some of which the student never accessed). I can certainly imagine it would not be difficult for a few sentences to be very similar and then others only having some shared phrases just from your daughter reading portions/examples out.
I agree that the line between “helping” (in a peer tutoring fashion) and “lending” is blurred and subject to interpretation and that intent needs to considered. The punishment seems excessive based on the described circumstances. Both of mine have erred on the side of an abundance of caution in helping friends due to concerns about helping someone understand the assignment being equated to cheating. Interestingly, in the workplace it would be considered uncollaborative not to help a peer understand a project or assignment, including sharing examples.
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Sadly the mark was on her discipline record prior to us even being contacted. I don’t foresee them removing it but that will be something we fight for.
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Forget about the C, this should be the negotiation; to have the mark removed.
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I am sorry this happened to your daughter OP. Teachers regularly encourage students to help their classmates, I can see how your daughter didn’t know this would be wrong.
I am also surprised that a teacher is assigning the exact assignment as another teacher that has already graded and returned it.
Retaining a lawyer was the right answer here. He/she can review all of the policies that pertain to cheating and what is defined as plagiarism by the school in totality and context.
Putting on my prior prior legal hat, the snippet of the policy you quoted seems so ambiguous to me that it almost lacks meaning if the supervisor of the department in question is allowed to interpret “lending” in an as expansive of a way as you are describing. I agree with you that the ordinary meaning of “lending” with respect to a graded assignment (let’s remember this is not a test/exam) is if you physically give your assignment to another person. These days with technology, I would agree that it might be an electronic or other visual, maybe audio, copy. However, there is an element of intent to “lend” where the lender knowingly gives something to the borrower with the expectation it would be returned. Note the policy does not use the words “assist” or “help” or even the word “share”. Here the way you have laid it out, your daughter was definitely “helping” the other kid and was using her own work as a teaching/example tool, not knowing or intending the other kid to misappropriate it for her own work. For example, if I show my neighbor how I use my line trimmer to edge a curve through demonstration, it does not mean he can come into my garage and take my trimmer without permission. I am not lending him my trimmer in that situation.
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Yes, clean record should be the goal. The grade is less of an issue going forward. Maybe this is a compromise that will enable the school to be flexible while saving face. The lawyer will know whether to start off asking for both.
I think “lawyering up” has such negative connotations, and is used on crime shows 
When we used a lawyer for a school issue it was just one meeting. We presented it as helpful rather than adversarial and kept smiling.
I think it is better that your daughter now understands what she did, expresses that, and doesn’t make excuses. There would have been other ways to help, describe length, explain intent of assignment.
The casual togetherness of Facetime, chatting while doing work together, is a very real factor here and needs to be acknowledged. The school needs to clarify policy, use specific helpful language, and provide training that is adequate and frequent enough to prevent these things.
This is word for word what the policy states:
“Any student who lends his/her work is subject to the same conse- quences.”
No definition of what lend means and I 100% believe my daughter thought it meant to give her hard copy out to another student.
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Also just had a long conversation with her. Shes finally in a calm state and I felt it was important to prepare her for the possibility that nothing is going to change and that we may have to use this as a painful lesson learned. I asked her what she thought the word “lend” meant and she pretty much repeated what I have said above. She expressed that her vocal reading of her work is done all the time in school. She said that many times the teachers ask the students to stand up and read what they wrote and encourage it. She herself has been asked to share her work as an “example” to others who may or may not have done the work. She wants to know why she would be in trouble if someone in the class decides to copy her words at that point and if not, then why is she in trouble now.
There has to be a distinction between the person who plagiarized and the person who was unknowingly copied and the punishment.
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If this situation was a workplace disciplinary issue, the three key issues would be what are the policies, how are employees told about the policies and whether the specific employee in question acknowledged receiving/understanding the policies. So while definitions are important, how specifically did the school convey this policy to students and families and did your daughter in any
Way in acknowledge receipt of the Policy?
Do not underestimate the ability of school leadership (supervisors, principals or superintendents) to manipulate a situation and throw kids under the bus. I have seen this happen many times to utter shock and dismay. I think a lawyer asap is the best solution with actions you’re requesting including removal of the mark and appropriate grade. Work with the lawyer, write down all the facts and desired remedies and do not meet/communicate with them without the lawyer. I would also start gathering school board contact info if you need to as a next step. I would wish schools would teach lessons including the importance of judgment and flexibility but no, they are often the worst and hammering and handing down ridiculous decisions when discretion is warranted, further exacerbating stress on kids.
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Just asked her. She said she never signed anything or that there was ever an in-depth conversation given as to what the word “lend” meant in terms of their policy. She scrolled back through her google classroom and saw at one point the teacher posted a link to the teachers syllabus. We clicked on it. In the syllabus at the very bottom there was a link to multiple items, one being school policies. She said she always new plagiarism was wrong and that its considered cheating. She just was not aware that what she was doing could be considered wrong. Keep in mind the start of this class started out virtually and my daughter has been virtual the entire marking period.