Student was punished for using AI—then his parents sued teacher and administrators

The motion said the punishment had “a significant, severe, and continuing impact on RNH’s future earning capacity, earning potential, and acceptance into an elite college or university course of study given his exemplary academic achievements.” The parents allege that “Defendants exceeded the authority granted to them in an abuse of authority, discretion, and unfettered state action by unfairly and unjustly acting as investigator, judge, jury, and executioner in determining the extreme and outrageous sanctions imposed upon these Students.”

Now “a senior at the top of his class,” RNH is “a three-sport varsity student-athlete, maintains a high grade point average, scored 1520 on his SAT, earned a perfect score on the ACT, and should receive a National Merit Scholarship Corporation Letter of Commendation,” the motion said. “In addition to his high level of academic and athletic achievement, RNH has substantial community service hours including working with cognitively impaired children playing soccer with the Special Needs Athletic Partnership known as ‘SNAP.'”

School defends “relatively lenient” discipline

In their motion to dismiss, school officials defended “the just and legitimate discipline rendered to RNH.”

“This lawsuit is not about the expulsion, or even the suspension, of a high school student,” the school response said. “Instead, the dispute concerns a student, RNH, dissatisfied with a letter grade in AP US History class, having to attend a ‘Saturday’ detention, and his deferral from NHS—rudimentary student discipline administered for an academic integrity violation. RNH was given relatively lenient and measured discipline for a serious infraction, using Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) on a project, amounting to something well less than a suspension. The discipline was consistent with the applicable Student Handbook.”