A Baltimore City student is speaking out after being accused of using artificial intelligence to cheat on an assignment.

Baltimore School for the Arts, according to the state, is the highest-rated school in Baltimore City for academic achievement. It ranks in the top 6% of all high schools in Maryland.

But for Nicole Edge and her son, Hassan Hunt, the school’s reputation does not match reality.

“Hassan works very hard, has always been a hard worker in school,” Edge told FOX45 News. “He’s always gotten very good grades and has always taken his work seriously, has always been a child that has some integrity. So, it was upsetting.”

Hassan just finished his junior year at Baltimore School for the Arts. Soon, he’ll start applying to colleges, where he plans to pursue a career in the arts or perhaps as a teacher. But earlier this school year, those plans were placed in jeopardy when he was accused by the school of using artificial intelligence to write a paper. In other words, he was accused of cheating.

“Like, cheated? I’m trying to think like, okay, what do we mean by cheated?” said Hassan, explaining what he thought when he learned that he’d been accused of cheating.

In November, Hassan handed in an assignment in his Modern World History class. At first, he got a B- on the assignment. But a short time later, he received a notification that his grade was changed to a zero because, according to his teacher, Hassan did not write his own paper.

In an email obtained by FOX45 News, the teacher explained that Hassan plagiarized the last paragraph of his assignment. The email says, “Plagiarism is defined as using another person’s work/words as your own without proper citation.” The teacher’s email went on to say, “In this case, the other person is AI.”

The teacher used AI detection software called GPTZero, which claimed with 98% probability that the paragraph was not written by Hassan, but rather AI.

Project Baltimore asked Hassan if he used artificial intelligence on the assignment.

“I used Grammarly,” he replied. “I don’t know a student that I’ve talked to, that honestly, doesn’t use Grammarly.”

Grammarly is marketed specifically to students. Its website reads, “Grammarly is your AI writing partner that makes it easy to raise your grades and meet your goals.”

Hassan said he didn’t use Grammarly to generate text, just to proofread his paper for spelling and grammar mistakes.

“There’s never been a rule,” said Hassan. “It was a very blurry line because you have some teachers saying one thing, other teachers are saying nothing. So, it was very confusing.”

Baltimore City Schools does not have a board-approved policy concerning the use of artificial intelligence by students. The district said in a statement, “Baltimore City Public Schools recognizes the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) as a transformative educational tool that can enhance learning experiences and prepare our students for a future dominated by digital innovation. However, we are equally aware of the challenges it presents, particularly concerning academic integrity.”

The statement went on to explain that city schools will continue to update their grading policies concerning “plagiarism, academic dishonesty, and cheating” as AI technology advances.

“I don’t think that you should be holding students accountable for something that you don’t even have a policy on,” said Edge. “The kids need to be protected.”

Despite the zero he received on the assignment, Hassan finished the year with a B in Modern World History.

His online record still reflects that he cheated. His family says Baltimore School for the Arts never gave Hassan an opportunity to defend himself in person, which is something the family says they requested.

“No conversation with the teacher, no conversation with any of the staff whatsoever,” Edge told Project Baltimore. “The teacher did not come and speak to him directly. It was just a blanket zero. It was the label of the cheating.”

Edge went on to say, “They dropped the ball on so many levels. And that’s disappointing for a school that has such a reputation, and is supposed to have a certain culture, in the school. So, very disappointed.”

The AI detection software that Hassan’s teacher used is GPTZero. Project Baltimore recently spoke with a parent in Anne Arundel County who said the same software was used to accuse her daughter of cheating. The GPTZero website clearly states, “results should not be used to directly punish students.”