NEARBY: Mom Says Child Was Suspended For Refusing to Take State Tests

Story by Danielle De Souza. 

Kim Nacionales said that she is angry that her son, who refused to take this week’s standardized testing, was ordered an in-school suspension on Thursday.

Nacionales said that her child would have had to sit in a separate room during periods four to nine after the tests, but she pulled him out of school for the day.

Nacionales, said that her son, an eighth grader in Woodland Middle School, refused to take the tests on Monday. He was sitting in the classroom as the tests were being administered on Thursday when a teacher addressed him.

“My son put his head down and the teacher said face forward and he said, ‘I am,’” Nacionales said. “The teacher then told him to get out of the room and go to the dean’s office."

Parents have told Patch that their children, who refused to take the testing, had to sit in the classroom and do nothing for more than an hour while other children were taking the test.

RELATED: Levittown Parent Blasts NYS Common Core Testing

“Students have to sit there, they could put their heads down, but they can’t read books or do anything,” Colette Paul said. “A majority of schools on Long Island allow students who refused to take the tests to read during the test or go to another location to take part in another activity.” 

“My son was willing to sit there,” Nacionales said. “He was singled out.”

Nacionales said that her son told her that the dean of the school told him that he should take the test. But the dean told Nacionales that he did not say that, she said. The mother also said that school officials told her that her son was being disruptive and talking to students during the testing.

School officials were not available for comment. 

“My son told me that he was not talking, she said. “The dean and the principal kept criticising me for believing my son,” she said. “My husband called the superintendent and did not get a call back.”   

Nacionales said that her son is very upset. 

“He cried and he never cries,” she said.

Nacionales said that she is proud of her son because he refused to take the tests on his own. 

“I did not tell him to do it,” she said. “He texted me on Monday and said he does not want to take them. I told the principal that they should be proud of him taking a stand and instead they are punishing him.” 

Nacionales said that she just wants to protect her child.

"I have nothing against the teachers or the school,” she said. “I am angry at the fact that they singled my son out. I feel they are using him as an example."