High school student suspended for going to class on a remote-learning day

A Long Island high school senior is reportedly facing a five-day suspension after he ignored protocol by showing up to class Tuesday when he was scheduled to learn remotely.

“I was going to school like students should be going to school,” Maverick Stow, 17-year-old student at William Floyd High School, explained to WABC of why he attended in-person classes on the first day of school.

“I think that a five-day suspension is out of line,” Stow, who has the support of his parents, told the outlet.

Stow said trouble first arose when his first-period teacher noticed he wasn’t on Tuesday’s in-person roster.

The teacher sent Stow to the principal’s office and he was asked to report home.

“‘Well, no, I think I need to go to class. This is during class time,’” Stow said he responded to administrators.

Instead of following their orders, Stow said, he finished the day learning in class before being notified of the disciplinary action.

His mother, Nora Kaplan-Stow, agreed with her son’s decision.

“Kids need to be in school every day. Virtual learning is not learning,” she told WABC. “My son is being suspended because he wants to be in school.”

Added the student’s father, Richard Stow: “He’s a very smart kid. He knows what he’s doing. When he said this is how he wanted to handle things, we were like, ‘Then go for it.’”

A spokesman for the school district, James Montalto, said in a statement that for the school to comply with state-mandated social distancing measures, students must abide by their hybrid schedules.

“Students who refuse to adhere to their scheduled in-person days and/or flagrantly disregard directives to leave school grounds and cause a disruptive environment for other students, will face disciplinary actions,” Montalto said.