{"id":625070,"date":"2026-05-05T15:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/625070\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T15:48:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:48:15","slug":"wake-county-student-says-clear-ai-policies-needed-after-being-accused-of-cheating-wral-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/625070\/","title":{"rendered":"Wake County student says clear AI policies needed after being accused of cheating :: WRAL.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

As generative artificial intelligence and education<\/a> further intertwine, a Wake County student is calling on school district leaders to set a clear standard for detecting its use.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Change.org petition<\/a> that has garnered 87 signatures as of Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0NC schools grapple with academic integrity in the age of AI<\/a><\/p>\n

Canina\u2019s 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\u2019t being used. The technology has inevitably found a place in some schoolwork, and education leaders are still grappling with<\/a> how to teach students about generative AI but also keep students intellectually honest.<\/p>\n

Canina described the instructional leadership for her English class as \u201ccomplicated.\u201d Because her original English teacher vacated the position, other teachers are grading her class\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

In one email to Canina, the English teacher wrote, \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The teacher then offered an alternative assignment for Canina to complete for full credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t think I should have to do more work when I didn’t do anything wrong,\u201d Canina told WRAL.<\/p>\n

In emails obtained by WRAL, the teacher seemed to acknowledge his limited knowledge of Canina\u2019s writing style.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d one email to Canina reads.<\/p>\n

Canina said she was shocked by the allegations.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing falsely accused of something like that is stressful, frustrating, and scary. It can lead to unfair punishment, damage a student\u2019s reputation, and make students feel like their hard work doesn\u2019t 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,\u201d the petition reads.<\/p>\n

It goes on to say, \u201cStudents, teachers, and administrators should work together to make sure AI detection tools are used responsibly and fairly, if they are used at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Canina said another teacher regraded her work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat teacher had an extension on their computer that allowed them to look at the version history and see for certain that I hadn’t,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI know teachers who are very strict\u2026there\u2019s Copyleaks and ZeroGPT that are supposed to go through and detect AI,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Sentosa Harjo said she has heard of situations at her school where students\u2019 grades are impacted for improperly using AI. However, she said teachers typically have to hear an accused student out.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur school has this policy where, if [an assignment] goes through and the [AI detector] says it\u2019s a certain percentage, the teacher has to bring the student in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WRAL reached out to Wake County Public Schools, asking:<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow are teachers trained to identify for generative AI in assignments?\u00a0Are teachers allowed to use AI detection tools, e.g. Turnitin?What is the disciplinary process if a student is suspected of using generative AI to complete their assignments? Are they given the opportunity to appeal?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spokesperson Sara Clark responded, saying \u201cthe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTeachers 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,\u201d Clark wrote in an email.<\/p>\n

The district has a complaints policy<\/a> that directs students and families to go up the chain of command with concerns.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Instead, Wake County Schools \u201cencourages educators to rely on multiple measures, such as reviewing a student\u2019s writing process and work history, to inform their professional judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n

NCDPI guidance<\/a> encourages the use of generative AI to enhance learning based on grade level and age.<\/p>\n

The guidance has an entire section cautioning against the use of AI detectors.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI detectors have proven not to be dependable, therefore they should never be used as the only factor when determining if a student \u2018cheated,\u2019\u201d according to the guidance.<\/p>\n

It notes that AI detectors frequently flag both false positives and false negatives.<\/p>\n

While districts have technology use policies, many do not have a written policy<\/a> specific to generative AI.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf 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 \u2018gotcha\u2019 moment,\u201d the guidance reads.<\/p>\n

That includes Wake County. Last year, the school board debated its first policy<\/a> and participated in interactive sessions<\/a> during public meetings with professionals to learn more about how the technology fits in the educational setting. The policy hasn\u2019t been finalized.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs 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,\u201d Clark wrote in an email. \u201cWe are listening to feedback from students, families, and staff and will continue to refine our approach to support both effective instruction and fair evaluation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As generative artificial intelligence and education further intertwine, a Wake County student is calling on school district leaders…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":625071,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[182,181,507,526,74,270598,155410,134299],"class_list":["post-625070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-education","tag-technology","tag-wake-county-public-schools","tag-wral-investigates","tag-wral-specialists"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/625071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}