The parents of a Massachusetts high school senior who used artificial intelligence (AI) for a social studies project have filed a lawsuit against his teachers and the school after their son received detention and a “D” grade.

“He’s been accused of cheating, and it wasn’t cheating, there was no rule in the handbook against AI,” Jennifer Harris, who along with her husband, Dale, are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in Massachusetts’ Plymouth County District Court last month against the Hingham High School administration and the school district.

The lawsuit alleges that their son will “suffer irreparable harm that is imminent” over the grade that his parents say kept him out of the National Honor Society, which they claim is threatening his standing with top tier colleges. 

“So, our argument to the school was could you fail him with a 59 instead of a 53 so he can have a B minus? He’s applying to top tier schools,” Harris said. “He’s applying to Stanford; he’s applying to MIT. They see a ‘C’ grade and it’s going in the trash.”

While the school called it plagiarism, the parents and their lawyer disagree. 

“There’s a wide gulf of information out there that says AI isn’t plagiarism,” Peter Farrell, who is representing the family said. 

Harris told the news station that their son had already missed rolling admissions at his choice schools, adding that he had received a perfect score on his ACT. 

The student’s father argued that while the school can’t “undo” some of his punishments, they can change his grade, allow him into the National Honor Society and make it clear that he didn’t cheat on his paper. 

Hingham Public Schools district wouldn’t comment on an ongoing litigation.