Power of Attorney

I have taken the USMLE step 1 boards four times and failed. On my third attempt, I failed by a point. I feel my last attempt was due to a recent job I had started. My school says that it is mandatory to repeat a semester, but the handbook says it may be required. Also, the acceptance letter states nothing about having to pass this semester. It only specifies I must pass the final shelf exam by 60%. I want to know if it is mandatory for me to retake the semester. If so, must I actually show up and pass every test?

If one can commit plagiarism without intent, can one be found guilty of plagiarism if one did not intend to or knowingly attempt to steal another's ideas or pass another's work off as one's own? The issue is my daughter is being sanctioned and punished by her college (put in her record that she is guilty of academic dishonesty/plagiarism) when the only thing she is guilty of is not knowing how to cite correctly in the APA style. I think her college is misinterpreting the law. How can one be found guilty of academic dishonesty without intent-doesn't dishonesty imply intent? The policy says 'plagiarism is an attempt to present as one's own what has come from another source.' It goes on to give examples of plagiarism like not citing correctly, etc. and saying plagiarism can be accidental or intentional. I am confused because if it is an 'attempt' then it needs to be intentional. My daughter did not attempt to steal another's ideas. She cited each and every source, but not correctly. And it is going on her record that she is guilty of plagiarism. The only thing she is guilty of is not including quotation marks when she should have. I think this is wrong. Please answer this question according to the law. In addition, can you direct me to sites that explain the guidelines that other universities use to determine whether a student is guilty of plagiarism and how these unintentional cases are sanctioned/punished if at all.

My 15 year old son is suspended from school for buying and selling an item called ' Tink'. We were told by the school that it was marijuana and everclear boiled down. They questioned him a month later and the only evidence they have is what he told them. They have no physical evidence; he passed urine analysis. We are not even sure if it had drugs or alcohol in it. He is now up for expulsion. I feel that there is no case due to no evidence. I'm not saying what he did was right, but he has never been in trouble and they want to throw the book at him.

My child who is in the 11th grade was involved in a minor altercation with a 9th grader while waiting to board a bus for an athletic event. The players were unsupervised and inside the school. One other student pushed the 9th grader into a vending machine while my son pretended to punch him in the stomach. A teacher came in, saw this, broke it up, and reported the incident. My son was given in school suspension for one day, which involved cleaning school walls with a squirt bottle and cloth for 7 1/2 hours. A very humiliating event exposed to the general population of students. They have also wrote a letter and placed it in my son's file stating that he bullied and intimidated the 9th grader. I question the severity of the punishment and embarrassment my son was subjected to. The coaches whom were supposed to be supervising the boys a this time were absent due to the school related duties and have not been reprimanded. They are also suspending my son from an important after school event that he was looking forward to. What are my options? I wish to have the letter removed from his file and the discipline to be complete as is. There is no appeal process in place and it appears his due process was violated due to the quickness of the discipline being placed. What are my options, should I contact a lawyer, is this defamation?