Grammarly was recently blocked for student use in FISD. FISD staff made this decision because grammarly is a form of artificial intelligence (AI), which is forbidden for student use. When checking a student’s work for AI, if the student used Grammarly it will be flagged as AI, causing the student to be given a warning and only allowed to retest up to a 70, per the new distinct policy on academic dishonesty. Although Grammarly is flagged as AI it does not use AI to write a student’s work, instead it uses AI to correct grammar for the student’s original work.

Students should have access to Grammarly. 

According to the Grammarly website, it uses natural language processing, contextual analysis and machine learning AI to correct grammar. These processes create algorithms for errors. This helps grammarly become more efficient by learning from the writer’s mistakes. These processes do not change the writing any more than correcting the improper grammar that the writer didn’t catch.

One out of every five Americans are diagnosed with dyslexia. This learning disability makes it hard for students to spell and use correct grammar. Most of these students have accommodations and one of them is spell check. As a result many have used grammarly to help accommodate this learning disability. Teachers have also recommended this site to help students check their writing. Now that grammarly is considered cheating, it is harder for students to turn in work with correct spelling and grammar.

Although it could be difficult for teachers to believe whether or not a student used Grammarly for spelling and grammar when signs of AI are shown, these situations can be avoided. Grammarly does give students suggestions on word choice and rephrasing sentences, which if used, the student’s writing would not be original. However, the students that use grammarly properly can submit a piece of their work before checking it with grammarly, and a copy of the work after. This helps the teacher see if the student’s work is original when AI is present in the second piece of work.

Grammarly should be unblocked because it does not write student’s work for them if used properly, and it helps students create stronger writing. Additionally, learning to use tools appropriately is an important skill for students to learn. 

The FISD student handbook states that academic dishonesty includes the “use of artificial intelligence without permission or proper attribution, or any other behavior that results in students presenting work as their own in a dishonest manner.” Having permission to use Grammarly does not go against the student handbook regarding AI, because AI is not writing the student’s work for them. The student is submitting their own work, which is only checked by AI to correct grammar. 

For these reasons, grammarly should be allowed by FISD.