School Districts Beware: AI Lawsuit Opens Door for Trouble

November 6, 2024

A legal challenge coming out of Federal Court in Massachusetts may serve as a wake-up call for school districts across the country to revisit policies and protocols when it comes to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the classroom.

The parents of a 17-year-old unnamed student filed the lawsuit after their son, a student at Hingham High School, was disciplined and his grades docked for using AI to complete a social studies project. The school says such use was against the rules. The parents say that was not made clear. They also claim that the reduction in their son’s grade from an A to a C+ could impact his ability to gain acceptance to the college of his choice.

Though the case has yet to be decided, what is evident is that when it comes to AI, it is imperative that school districts have clear policies that students are made aware of, and that those policies are enforced equally across the board. In the Massachusetts case, the school district claims its students are taught the rules about AI use in their English classes, but that the rules apply in all classes. The plaintiff says that was not made clear when the instructions were given, and thus the penalty of a reduction in the grade, a detention, and expulsion from the National Honor Society are unjust.

Our employment law team works closely with employers to ensure they have employee handbooks in place and regularly updated that outline all relevant policies as well as any penalties for violating the rules. We take the same approach when working with school districts. Ambiguously worded policies, uneven enforcement of existing policies or, worst of all, no policy in place, is a recipe for disaster. School districts risk opening themselves up to a legal challenge like what the Hingham School District is facing.

From a practical standpoint, litigation is costly, it can become a distraction that takes away from the education process, and in cases like this, where the teacher is named in the lawsuit, it can have a chilling effect on teachers’ ability to do their jobs.

In our experience, these issues can be proactively avoided by simply having detailed, well-thought-out policies in place. That includes not only a written policy on AI use, but also a plan for how that information is going to be communicated to both students and families. Training educators is also critical to ensure that the policy is being enforced evenly across the district.

We work closely with school districts to ensure they are not only in compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations, but to ensure they are regularly updating their policies to capture the ever-evolving world of education.

The bottom line is this: it is always easier, more cost effective, and better to invest time on the front end rather than defend against drawn-out legal challenges down the road. AI is the latest technological advance raising legal challenges, but it certainly will not be the last.

Click here to learn more about the Massachusetts case.

Shannon A. Spyres is an associate attorney who focuses her practice in the areas of Personal Injury, Estate Planning, and Education Law. She can be reached at 716-854-4300 ext. 203 or sspyres@gross-shuman.com