> they taking something that should be just another lesson as disciplinary action.

Remember the "disciplinary action" here is giving the student a bad grade, with the opportunity to redo the assignment.

Are you seriously asserting they should've gotten a good grade for a paper that cites sources that don't exist? In an advanced placement class no less?

If anything they're getting of lighter than students who did a bad job on their own without using AI. I know I was never given a chance to redo a paper I phoned in.