It is critically important that schools and families work together. I suggest you talk to his teacher or the school administrator who handled the cheating -- assuming it was discovered.
If the school imposed a punishment, it's really important that you reinforce with your son the purpose of this punishment. Depending on how significant that punishment was, I suggest you talk to him about what he thinks a reasonable "home consequence" should be for his cheating.
If this is a first-time behavior that's completely out of character, I would handle him differently than I would handle a child who has a chronic coping strategy of lying, avoiding and cheating. Talk to him about the fears that may have led him to cheat. Is he lazy about his studies? Is he truly struggling in that subject? Talk it out until you've helped to surface some of the reasons for his actions. And if he is feeling insecure about the subject, consider asking his teacher for extra help or think about bringing in a tutor.
Marilyn Augustyn
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I was just faced with the same situation with my 13 year old daughter on Friday. This was not within her normal pattern. After speaking to her to find out why she did cheat off of a homework assignment, she indicated that she did manage her time correctly the night before. She assumed she could finish it in class, but that did not work out for her. She has to serve detention at school, write an essay for her teacher on being honest to yourself in your education. Her punishment from "US" will be to do additional chores around the house. If this becomes a pattern, then a more stringent punishment will need to follow.