As generative artificial intelligence and education further intertwine, a Wake County student is calling on school district leaders to set a clear standard for detecting its use.
Green Hope High School freshman Eleanor Canina said she was falsely accused of using generative AI to complete an English assignment. Now, she is spearheading a Change.org petition that has garnered 87 signatures as of Monday afternoon.
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Canina’s petition highlights a central tension among students and teachers in schools in recent years, as growing use of generative AI makes people more suspicious of when it is and isn’t being used. The technology has inevitably found a place in some schoolwork, and education leaders are still grappling with how to teach students about generative AI but also keep students intellectually honest.
The Wake County school board has been deliberating an artificial intelligence policy and expects to revisit the drafting process for it later this spring. On Tuesday, Board Member Chris Heagarty said the board needs to at least roll out a policy in parts, if a comprehensive one will take too long. He cited Canina’s case and lamented that teachers would use an unreliable technology to try to detect AI use.
“We’re seeing more and more problems where despite all of the potential we see with AI,” Hegarty said. “We really need to adopt a comprehensive AI policy.”
Canina described the instructional leadership for her English class as “complicated.” Because her original English teacher vacated the position, other teachers are grading her class’s work.
In one email to Canina, the English teacher wrote, “I ran Eleanor’s work through three independent AI assessment tools. The results indicated likelihoods of 62%, 75%, and 87% for AI generation or significant AI assistance.”
The teacher then offered an alternative assignment for Canina to complete for full credit.
“I didn’t think I should have to do more work when I didn’t do anything wrong,” Canina told WRAL.
In emails obtained by WRAL, the teacher seemed to acknowledge his limited knowledge of Canina’s writing style.
“I also agree that familiarity with a student’s voice is the most effective way to identify and counteract these incongruities. At the same time, given the current situation regarding the course’s lack of direct instructional contact, I am relying on the evidence available to me,” one email to Canina reads.
Canina said she was shocked by the allegations.
“Being falsely accused of something like that is stressful, frustrating, and scary. It can lead to unfair punishment, damage a student’s reputation, and make students feel like their hard work doesn’t matter. It also makes it difficult for students to feel confident and creative in their writing when there is always a fear of being wrongly judged,” the petition reads.
It goes on to say, “Students, teachers, and administrators should work together to make sure AI detection tools are used responsibly and fairly, if they are used at all.”
Ultimately, Canina said another teacher regraded her work.
“That teacher had an extension on their computer that allowed them to look at the version history and see for certain that I hadn’t,” she explained.
On Tuesday, Canina spoke before the Wake County Board of Education.
“This experience made me realize the growing prevalence of the issue,” Canina said. “Students being accused of using AI on their work when they didn’t needs to be treated as a real concern.
“I understand that this is uncharted territory. There are absolutely students who are using AI to cheat on their assignments, and teachers are doing their best to navigate the circumstances, but false accusations, along with being incredibly unfair, cause a great deal of stress for students.”
Canina told school board members that students falsely accused of using AI don’t have an easy way of responding. She asked for protections for students in this situation.
A moderator of the school board asked for Wake County Public School System Chief of Staff and Strategic Planning Dr. Clint Robinson or Chief of Academic Advancement Dr. Mellotta Battle Hill to speak with Canina after her comments.
Watch: Wake County student speaks before school board after she says she was falsely accused of using AI to cheat
In an interview with WRAL News earlier this year, Green Hope High School Senior Selina Sentosa Harjo said each individual teacher often has their own rules around AI.
“I know teachers who are very strict…there’s Copyleaks and ZeroGPT that are supposed to go through and detect AI,” she said.
Sentosa Harjo said she has heard of situations at her school where students’ grades are impacted for improperly using AI. However, she said teachers typically have to hear an accused student out.
“Our school has this policy where, if [an assignment] goes through and the [AI detector] says it’s a certain percentage, the teacher has to bring the student in,” she said.
The Change.org petition lists several demands, urging district leaders to implement create guidelines and transparency around when and how AI detection tools are used. She also calls for a clear appeals process for students accused of improperly using AI.
WRAL reached out to Wake County Public Schools, asking:
Spokesperson Sara Clark responded, saying “the use of artificial intelligence in education is a new and rapidly evolving area, and we are continuing to learn alongside educators, students, and families as technology changes.”
“Teachers must be able to accurately assess student work in order to understand progress and adjust instruction when needed. At the same time, we have an obligation to ensure that student work is evaluated fairly and consistently,” Clark wrote in an email.
The district has a complaints policy that directs students and families to go up the chain of command with concerns.
She said staff has access to ongoing asynchronous AI training from WakeLearns and on each Professional Learning day this school year. She also said Wake County follows guidance from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction but does not provide or require the use of AI detection tools.
Instead, Wake County Schools “encourages educators to rely on multiple measures, such as reviewing a student’s writing process and work history, to inform their professional judgment.”
NCDPI guidance encourages the use of generative AI to enhance learning based on grade level and age.
The guidance has an entire section cautioning against the use of AI detectors.
“AI detectors have proven not to be dependable, therefore they should never be used as the only factor when determining if a student ‘cheated,’” according to the guidance.
It notes that AI detectors frequently flag both false positives and false negatives.
While districts have technology use policies, many do not have a written policy specific to generative AI.
“If there is suspicion that a student depended on AI too heavily for an assignment, this should be viewed as a teachable moment to reinforce the appropriate partnership with AI tools rather than a ‘gotcha’ moment,” the guidance reads.
That includes Wake County. Last year, the school board debated its first policy and participated in interactive sessions during public meetings with professionals to learn more about how the technology fits in the educational setting. The policy hasn’t been finalized.
“As this issue continues to develop, we are actively evaluating adopting policy and guidance related to artificial intelligence. Schools and professional learning teams are also working to ensure consistency in expectations and practices at the school level,” Clark wrote in an email. “We are listening to feedback from students, families, and staff and will continue to refine our approach to support both effective instruction and fair evaluation.”
WRAL education reporter Emily Walkenhorst contributed to this story.
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