Massachusetts high schooler uses AI in project; parents disciplined

BOSTON, Massachusetts: Parents of a Massachusetts high school senior appeared in federal court this week to argue in favor of their son, who they believed had been unfairly punished for using artificial intelligence while researching a history project.

They argued that this punishment prevented him from being inducted into the National Honor Society and damaged his college prospects.

Lawyers for the couple said the lawsuit raises larger, unaddressed questions about AI's role in schools. A federal judge did not immediately issue a ruling.

According to a lawyer for the parents, they initially filed the case in state court, but the defendants moved it to federal court.

In one of his honors courses, Dale and Jennifer Harris's son partnered with another student to write a paper on basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, focusing on his civil rights activities. According to the lawsuit, the assignment didn't explicitly prohibit the use of AI for research or preparation.

However, when their teacher, Susan Petrie, discovered they had used AI in their research, the Harrises claimed their son was penalized with a low grade and required to attend a Saturday detention.

Nancy Correnti, chair of the Hingham School Committee, which is also named in the lawsuit, emailed to say that she could not comment due to the student's privacy and the ongoing legal case. Petrie's lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.

In a court filing, school officials defended their actions, noting that the case doesn't involve serious consequences like suspension or expulsion. The lawsuit claims that Petrie discovered the AI-generated content during spot checks using a website designed to flag AI-generated material. As a result, the student's paper, which was incomplete when discovered, was graded a zero, and he was allowed to rewrite it. His second submission received a D.

The lawsuit argues that because the school had no specific policy against AI use, the teacher's actions violated the student's civil rights and his right to equal educational opportunities. The suit asks for the student's grade in Social Studies to be raised to a B, the disciplinary record to be expunged, and for the student to be reinstated as a candidate for the National Honor Society.

The Harrises also argued that the student t handbook lacked clear guidelines on AI use and asked the court to prevent the school from labeling AI use as cheating. They further contend that content generated by AI isn't plagiarism, as it doesn't involve copying work from another human.