District says a student would 'never be disciplined for simply saying Jesus Christ'
A Mississippi mother's social media post of a write-up her first-grader received at school for saying "Jesus Christ" has garnered thousands of reactions, comments and shares.
"Please pray for the schools," Shonna Coleman wrote on Facebook. "My son got this from school for saying Jesus Christ."
The post includes a photo of a "parent notice of disciplinary incident" from Jan. 4 that appears to be from Hope Sullivan Elementary in Southhaven, Mississippi.
The reason for the notice was checked "unacceptable language," with the actions taken listed as "had conference with student" and "telephoned parent."
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The write-up that a Mississippi mother posted to social media. (Shonna Coleman)
"It’s kind of unfair that he didn’t get a warning," Coleman told FOX TV Stations. "It went straight to a write-up. I understand if he did it a second time, and then you write him up."
The note from the teacher said Coleman's son "said ‘Jesus Christ’ when he dropped the Legos he was cleaning up from recess."
The teacher alleged the first-grader used "unacceptable language" when he dropped Legos he was cleaning up from recess. (iStock)
Hope Sullivan Elementary is part of the DeSoto County School District.
"It is possible that a student could be corrected for a disrespectful use of Jesus Christ's name," a statement to Fox News said, adding that a student would "never be disciplined for simply saying Jesus Christ" and that several schools in the district have Christian fellowships that meet on campus.
The district's Facebook page says it oversees 42 public schools.
The Facebook post of the write-up has gotten thousands of reactions, comments and shares. (Photo Illustration by Thiago Prudencio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Coleman said the incident involving her 7-year-old son left her "shocked and surprised," adding write-ups often follow kids in their school records.
"This is so sad what is this world coming to," one Facebook user wrote in response to Coleman's viral post. "They need Jesus at that school. We must continue to pray for our children."
"They would have to show me a policy where ‘Jesus Christ’ is deemed as unacceptable language," another woman wrote.
