A 12-year-old boy has been suspended from school after he hugged his female gym teacher.
In a news report by Telegram, the boy was playing dodgeball with his friends in Massachusetts in the United States when the teacher gave him a timeout.
The boy then hugged his teacher and asked if he could stay in the game.
Julie Orozco, the boy’s foster mother, said that the teacher did not like the boy’s gesture and continued with her class.
The boy was surprised when he was later called by school administrators who told him that he will receive punishment for hugging his gym teacher.
Orozco met with the school officials to discuss the boy’s punishment. The foster mom said that she was told that his son’s hug was ‘tight, forceful and progressive’.
The school officials said that the boy should have known that the gesture is not acceptable.
The mother, however, said that school official statements were inconsistent with the hug. Orozco believes that her son being an African-American could’ve made an impact on the school’s decision against his Caucasian teacher.
The suspension was cut from 10 days to 4 days. The offense was also changed from physical assault to disruption of school activities.
