Boy, 8, Sent Home from School for Drawing Jesus on a Crucifix

A Massachusetts child was sent home from school two weeks ago for drawing a stick figure of Jesus on the cross, and because he drew the picture, the 8-year-old African American child was ordered to undergo psychological testing before being allowed to return to school. This week, the Taunton School District is denying the father's claims that the boy was in fact suspended over the drawing.

Chester Johnson, 40, the boy's father, said that his son was inspired to draw the crucifix after visiting a shrine in Attleboro, Mass. Johnson also said that his son was in absolute awe over the religious symbols that were on display at the shrine. "When he saw the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross, that's what he drew," Johnson said. "He liked that. That drew his eye."

According to Johnson, the child's teacher asked students to draw a picture that reminded them of the holiday season. When his son drew Xs instead of actual eyes on the Jesus figure, Johnson speculates, this might have alarmed school administrators.

School district administrators claim that the drawing Johnson showed reporters is not the same one that was discovered by the teacher earlier this month. School officials now say that the second-graders were never assigned to sketch something that reminded them of the holiday season.

This is the statement published on the school district's Website:

The inaccuracies in the original media story have resulted in a great deal of criticism and scrutiny of the system that is unwarranted. In this case, as in any other case involving the well-being of a student, the administration acted in accordance with the school department's well-established protocol. This protocol is centered upon the student's care, well-being and educational success.

Johnson is demanding that the school district compensate him and his family for their pain and suffering. He told a flurry of reporters yesterday, "It hurts me that they did this to my kid. They can't mess with our religion; they owe us a small lump sum for this.''