University of Michigan student accused of using AI suing school; lawsuit alleges disability discrimination

The court document was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Monday. It identifies the student as an undergraduate who has documented disabilities, including generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. (WWJ via CNN Newsource)

DETROIT (WWJ) -- A federal lawsuit alleges University of Michigan regents and faculty engaged in disability discrimination against a student accused by an instructor of using artificial intelligence to write papers.

The court document was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Monday. It identifies the student as an undergraduate who has documented disabilities, including generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

“These conditions substantially limit one or more major life activities, including concentration, thinking, communicating, and interacting with others in high-stress settings,” the lawsuit said.

According to the court document, the university had notice “no later than” Feb. 7, 2025, of the student’s disabilities and need for accommodations through its Services for Students with Disabilities process and medical documentation.

During the last fall semester, Theo Nash, an instructor for the class Great Books 191, accused the student three different times of using AI to write course papers, according to the court document.

“The accusations were based heavily on subjective judgments about Plaintiff’s writing style and on self-confirming ‘AI comparison’ outputs generated using Plaintiff’s own outlines and content,” the lawsuit said.

According to the court document, the student denied using AI for the papers and provided written proof of the same, along with disability-related documents that said traits associated with GAD and OCD, including “formal tone, meticulous structure, stylistic consistency, and heightened distress during oral confrontation, can be misinterpreted as artificial or dishonest behavior and are not proof of AI misuse.”

The lawsuit said the university and its Office of Student Academic Affairs moved forward with discipline without providing the student with disability support, despite being notified. Measures included “disciplinary probation” and requiring them to write a reflective essay. The school also issued penalties that resulted in a “no record” grade on the student’s transcript, according to the court document.

The student on Dec. 24 submitted a formal appeal for the school’s ruling on two of the instructor’s accusations, per the lawsuit. The same day, they filed a joint civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and the university’s Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX Office.

The university told the student her appeal would be paused until the federal education agency completed its review, the lawsuit said.

Per the court document, the federal office issued a written dismissal of the student’s complaint on Jan. 2, saying the student had approved testing accommodations.

According to the lawsuit, the NR grade and sanctions are blocking the student from graduating and threatening their future education plans, according to the court document.

The lawsuit said the regents and faculty named violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to “reasonably accommodate” the student’s disability-related limitations “in the academic integrity process and related academic decisions.”

According to the court document, the defendants also violated the Rehabilitation Act by discriminating against them “solely by reason of disability” by “treating disability-related writing traits as evidence of misconduct.”

The lawsuit is asking a judge to preserve the student’s academic record by stopping any negative marks on their transcript, preventing that information from being shared, and blocking any further academic penalties while the accusations are being challenged. It also asks the school to provide the student with a “prompt, fair, and disability-informed process” and is seeking financial compensation for an amount that has yet to be determined.

A spokesperson at the University of Michigan said the university has no comment in response to the lawsuit.