### Massachusetts School District Faces Lawsuit Over AI Use in Student Assignment
A legal confrontation is taking shape in Massachusetts, where the guardians of a high school student are filing a suit against the Hingham School District following their son’s disciplinary action for utilizing an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to fulfill a school task. This case, which has attracted considerable attention, raises significant issues regarding AI’s role in education, the principles of academic integrity, and the transparency of school policies in the swiftly changing digital era.
#### The Incident
The lawsuit originates from an event at Hingham High School in December 2023, when a student, identified as RNH in legal filings, employed an AI chatbot to aid in crafting a Social Studies project. The project, which centered on basketball icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his endeavors as a civil rights activist, was part of a prestigious historical contest known as “National History Day.”
RNH and a fellow student reportedly utilized AI to produce an initial outline and perform research for their project. However, the school subsequently accused them of cheating, plagiarism, and engaging in academic misconduct. Consequently, RNH received numerous zeros for various components of the project and was assigned a Saturday detention. His overall grade for the project was 65 out of 100, resulting in his average in the Advanced Placement (AP) US History course declining from 84 to 78. Additionally, RNH was initially excluded from induction into the National Honor Society (NHS), though this decision was later overturned but did not occur in time for his early college applications.
#### Parents’ Claims
RNH’s parents, Jennifer and Dale Harris, contend that their son did not commit cheating and that the school penalized him for breaching a non-existent rule. They assert that the Hingham High School student handbook did not specifically forbid the employment of AI tools, nor did it provide clear directions regarding AI’s usage in academic endeavors.
“They informed us that our son cheated on a paper, which simply isn’t true,” Jennifer Harris expressed to WCVB, a local news station. “They effectively punished him for a rule that isn’t enacted.”
The lawsuit, which was lodged in Plymouth County Superior Court and subsequently transferred to the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, claims that the school infringed upon RNH’s civil rights, including his entitlement to equal educational opportunities. The parents seek to have their son’s grade reinstated, have the disciplinary record cleared, and demand the school district undergo training regarding AI’s role in education.
#### School’s Defense
In retaliation, the school district has defended its actions, asserting that RNH’s application of AI amounted to academic dishonesty. In a motion to dismiss the suit, the school referenced the student handbook, which, while not explicitly citing AI, prohibits the “unauthorized use of technology during an assignment” and the “unauthorized use or close imitation of another’s language and thoughts and presenting them as one’s own work.”
According to the school, RNH acknowledged utilizing an AI tool to generate concepts and formulate parts of his notes and scripts for the project. The school argues that this constitutes plagiarism, as RNH utilized the language and ideas of another author—even if it was a digital, artificial one—without appropriate attribution.
“Incredibly, RNH and his family assert that employing AI to draft, edit, and research material for an AP US History project, all while failing to cite AI’s involvement in the project, is neither an ‘act of dishonesty,’ ‘use of unauthorized technology,’ nor plagiarism,” stated the school’s motion.
The school also alluded to a written policy on academic dishonesty and AI expectations that was distributed to students during the fall of 2023. This policy explicitly prohibits students from using AI tools during assignments unless explicitly authorized and instructed. It also mandates that students credit AI tools when used, even for generating ideas or editing a small segment of their work.
#### The Broader Debate: Is AI Use Plagiarism?
At the core of the case is a wider discussion about whether employing AI tools in academic work constitutes plagiarism. The parents contend that content generated by AI is distinct from replicating someone else’s work, as AI produces new information rather than merely reproducing existing content.
“While there exists considerable contention regarding whether the use of generative AI equates to plagiarism, plagiarism is defined as the act of appropriating another’s work or concepts and presenting them as one’s own,” the parents’ motion for a preliminary injunction asserted. “Throughout the project, RNH and his classmate did not duplicate another’s work or ideas and present them as their own. The students utilized AI, which creates and synthesizes new information.”
The parents further argue that the school’s measures have had a lasting effect on their son’s academic record and future opportunities. They claim that the repercussions have influenced RNH’s prospects of being accepted into an elite university.
