Gym pants tear sends boy to detention

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - An Albuquerque father is upset after he said his 12-year-old son was sent to in-school suspension for accidentally ripping his pants in gym class.

"It seemed like the punishment was unfounded because he ripped his pants," Richard Heath said.  "It was an accident.  It was not intentional."

Heath's son Jonathon is a sixth grader at Harrison Middle School in the South Valley.

He said the incident happened on Tuesday because Jonathon's class was not allowed to dress out for gym class.  Heath told News 13 that is the policy when there is a substitute teacher running the class.

According to Jonathon, the school did not have another pair of pants he could wear, and he wasn't allowed to put on his gym clothes, so he was sent to detention known as ISS for in-school suspension.

"He had to write the school uniform policy in English and in Spanish as if he wasn't adhering to the uniform policy," Heath said.

When Heath went to talk to the assistant principal about the incident, he said at first she seemed like she wanted to help.  But then "she turned around and denied he was ever sent to ISS," said Heath.

Fed up, Heath took to YouTube to vent his frustrations on Thursday posting a video about what he said happened.

Friday Heath said he was able to meet with Harrison's principal whom he said not only apologized for the way Jonathon was treated but said it never should have happened.

"He said they don't normally send someone to ISS for something like this, that this is something that happened out of the ordinary," Heath said.

Jonathon told News 13 he has never been in trouble at school before and that his time spent in in school suspension was not time well spent.

"It was a waste of time, and I don't know why I had to do it," Jonathon said.

News 13 called the Albuquerque Public Schools district Friday to find out what the middle school had to say about the Heath's accusations.  Even though it was after school hours, a district spokesperson did try to reach the principal only to find out he is now on vacation.

Heath said the school told him the detention would not be on his son's permanent record.