Judge Rules Against Parents in AI Cheating Case

A federal judge has ruled against the parents of a Massachusetts high school student who sued the school district after their son was disciplined for using an AI tool to complete an assignment. U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Levenson found that Hingham High School's actions were justified under its academic integrity policies, as the student had copied and pasted material from AI without attribution, including citations to nonexistent books. The parents argued that there were no explicit rules against using AI in the student handbook, but the court determined that the school's plagiarism policy was sufficient to warn students against such practices. The judge noted that while generative AI poses challenges for educators, the school's conclusions and disciplinary measures were appropriate. As a result, the request to expunge the student's disciplinary record and raise his grade was denied. The incident reflected ongoing debates about the ethical use of AI in educational settings.