Boy Suspended For Jesus Drawing

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - An 8-year-old special needs student near Boston was suspended and told to undergo a psychological evaluation after creating a drawing of Jesus on the cross that was deemed too violent.

The Taunton Daily Gazette reports that the boy's father received a call from the school earlier this month about the drawing, which showed a crucified Jesus with Xs over his eyes. The teacher had asked the class to make drawings of something that reminded them of Christmas after going on a field trip to a Christian retreat in Attleboro, Mass.

"I think what happened is that because he put Xs in the eyes of Jesus, the teacher was alarmed and they told the parents they thought it was violent," Toni Saunders, an educational consultant with the Associated Advocacy Center, told the Gazette.

The boy who gets special reading and speech instruction at school went to get psychologically evaluated and was found not to have any violent tendencies. The boy has since been transferred to another school in the district at the parents' request.

For the school's part, superintendent Julie Hackett said that there are safety protocols to follow. "If a situation warrants it, we ask for outside safety evaluations if we have particular concerns about a child's safety. We followed all the protocols in our system."

In October a 6-year-old boy received a 45-day suspension after bringing his Cub Scout camping utensil to school. The school considered the utensil a weapon since it contains a knife. The school district eventually revised its student code of conduct and the boy was allowed to go back to school .