AI can help with learning, but it can also cause trouble between parents and teachers. A cheating case went to court.
What did the students use AI for? Two students at a high school in the USA used artificial intelligence (AI) in December 2023 to write a history assignment. They submitted text created by AI. The school discovered this and punished them with a record of the incident and a failing grade (via Arstechnica).
The parents of one student went to court to contest this. They challenged both the accusation and the entry in the disciplinary record. Both were seen as potentially damaging for the future. The parents wanted to expedite the proceedings and obtain what is called provisional protection. This is intended to prevent harm to the plaintiff until a court ruling is made (via Bloomberglaw). In this case, the parents wanted to prevent the disciplinary record and poor grades from jeopardizing their son’s applications.
How did the case turn out for the students? The judge ruled in favor of the school, and the students had to rewrite the essay individually. However, the disciplinary record will remain in their files. A final verdict is still pending. But the judge’s ruling shows how little he values the parents’ position.
Interestingly, however, is what exactly is being contested. Because students are allowed to use AI in everyday school life – just not for submitted text.
If you want to deal with German or US law, please contact a lawyer you trust. More information can be found directly at the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Students have built a spy glasses that also includes AI. We present the project, which aims to highlight the dangers of technology, in article form. You can watch the associated video directly:
AI allowed, but not like this
Does the school allow the use of AI? The high school allows students to use AI for research, brainstorming, or outlining; but not to produce text for submission. However, the parents argued in court that this is not explicitly prohibited in school documents. In a handbook, the school explicitly prohibits the use of AI in the following cases according to Arstechnica (via court document website: courtlistener):
[Students] may not use AI tools during tests, when completing homework, or in connection with class assignments, unless explicitly permitted.
The parents did not see this as applicable to the case.
How did the students get caught? The online portal that was used for digital submission immediately detected the AI passages in the homework. Further investigations confirmed the suspicion.
The school also uncovered how little time the student actively worked on the online document: barely an hour. Meanwhile, their classmates needed seven to nine hours for the assignment. Additionally, the AI invented books as sources.
AI is also a highly debated topic at universities. Here it can help with teaching and research, but it can also be misused. An educator recently faced a situation that exceeded her worst fears: Professor gives students a simple task – but they still use a brazen aid
