According to the media reports, the parents of an Illinois eighth grader who was told not to attend his graduation ceremony Thursday called for the school superintendent's removal.

The Belleville News-Democrat has reported that Jeremy Horner, 14, a student at Albers Elementary School in Albers, was suspended May 11 for allegedly displaying an obscene hand gesture toward a teacher, leaving the school without permission and engaging in chronic bad behavior. The newspaper further said that the District 63 board of education voted unanimously Wednesday to uphold the suspension.

According to the student, he never made the gesture and denied chronic poor behavior.

Kristy L. Horner, Jeremy's mother, said, "You know what they said the chronic bad behavior was? Giggling in class, wearing jeans with holes in them, blowing his nose in class without permission, and not returning a paper that I signed."

The boy was falsely accused by Superintendent Sharon Harms, who they said was an overly zealous disciplinarian, Kristy Horner and Jeremy's stepfather, Bob Atwater, said. The obscene gesture was never discussed during the hearing from which the public was excluded, Atwater further said.

"They had no witnesses. ... They had their minds made up before they even went in there. This is really about Sharon Harms. She has to go."

The newspaper also said that the board members and Superintendent Harms were unavailable for comment.

The News-Democrat has reported that the student's parents waited outside the meeting with a number of other Albers School parents who were called in separately and spoke in support of Jeremy. They said Harms habitually picked on students she didn't like. (With inputs from Agencies)