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The parents of a Hingham High School student sued the Massachusetts school district after he received a failing project score and Saturday detention over an AP U.S. History assignment involving generative AI. A federal judge denied their request for a preliminary injunction in November 2024, but that interim decision was not a final ruling on the lawsuit or a universal judgment about AI use in schools.
What happened at Hingham High School
Dale and Jennifer Harris sued Hingham Public Schools and school officials after their son, identified as RNH in federal court documents, was disciplined over an AP U.S. History project. According to an October 2024 report by Futurism, he received a score of 65 out of 100 and Saturday detention.
The parents said their son used AI to research the project, not to write it, and argued that the student handbook did not expressly prohibit generative AI. Those are the parents’ account and argument, not settled findings about what happened or what the rules meant.
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The November 20, 2024 federal court order describes the school’s position that students could use AI to brainstorm topics and identify sources. It also says the preliminary record indicated that students copied AI-generated material into the project. The judge characterized the school officials’ December 2023 determination this way: “In December 2023, school officials at Hingham High School (“HHS”) determined that RNH and another student, both of whom were juniors at the time, had cheated on an AP U.S. History project by attempting to pass off, as their own work, material that they had taken from a generative artificial intelligence (“AI”) application.” That is the court’s description of the preliminary record and the school’s determination, not a general rule that any AI use in schoolwork is cheating. Read the federal court order.
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The disagreement turns partly on the difference between permitted help—such as brainstorming or finding sources—and presenting AI-generated material as one’s own. The parents challenged the clarity of the rules and described the student’s use differently; the school’s account, as recounted in the order, focused on copied material and unauthorized use. The available record does not establish that the handbook’s general language and the teacher’s assignment-specific directions were identical.
What the lawsuit asked for
The complaint set out the parents’ legal claims and sought remedies that included changing the project grade and removing records of the incident. These were requests made in the lawsuit, not outcomes the court had already ordered. Futurism quoted the complaint as saying, “Generative AI is an emerging landscape and its use is here to stay.”
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The Associated Press reported that the parents’ lawyer argued the student had been unfairly punished, while school officials defended the discipline as measured and tied to unauthorized AI use and failure to cite AI. The school committee declined public comment at the time, citing student privacy and ongoing proceedings. Read the Associated Press report.
What the judge decided—and what remains open
On November 20, 2024, the federal judge denied the parents’ motion for a preliminary injunction. That means the court did not grant the requested relief at that preliminary stage. It does not, by itself, resolve every claim in the complaint or establish a final judgment on the merits.
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The materials available here establish the 2024 complaint and that preliminary-injunction order, but do not verify a later final disposition or Hingham Public Schools’ current AI policy. The outcome of the lawsuit after the order and the district’s present rules should therefore not be inferred from this ruling.
Can a school punish a student for using AI?
This case does not establish a blanket answer for every school or assignment. The dispute involved a specific AP U.S. History project, the school’s account of copied AI-generated material, and disagreement over what the student was permitted to do. Whether AI assistance is allowed depends on the applicable school and classroom instructions; a preliminary ruling in this case is not a general policy for other students.
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