A Student Was Punished for Using AI to Write a Paper. Now His Parents Are Suing the School: 'They Violated His Civil Rights'

The parents of a Massachusetts student are suing his school, claiming his civil rights were "violated" after he was punished for using AI to help with a class project.

Dale and Jennifer Harris claimed Hingham High School punished their son too harshly for using AI to help complete a paper for a history class, as reported by WCVB.

The incident took place in December 2023, when the Harris family said their son, a junior at the time, used AI to help with research and note-taking for a project for his AP U.S. history class, according to a complaint obtained by the Patriot Ledger.

When the student's use of AI was discovered, he was awarded a zero for the project's notes and draft portions, which brought his overall project grade down to a 65%, leading the student to end with a C+ in the class, according to the complaint. The student was also barred from the National Honor Society (NHS) and was given a Saturday detention.

"In my lay opinion, they violated his civil rights," Dale Harris told WCVB. "They treated him and punished him more severely than other students."

The student was allowed to reapply for NHS and was inducted this fall after it was discovered that seven other students who had been accused of academic dishonesty had been admitted to the honor society, the student's lawyer Peter Farrell told the Patriot Ledger.

Farrell said that the family wants the school to update and clarify their policies. In August, the school added a section to the student handbook stating that the use of AI without permission was prohibited. The school's attorney also said students were given presentations on the use of AI in 2023.