Brian Chaney says his son, Stone, left, pictured with his brother, River, right, was manhandled by a teacher for not standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. (Photo: Facebook) 
 
 A Farmington Public Schools middle school teacher has been put on leave after a being accused by a parent of manhandling a student who refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. 
 
 Brian Chaney, a parent in the district, said in a post on his Facebook page that his son Stone was "violently snatched from his chair for not standing for the Pledge of Allegiance" at school Sept. 7. 
 
 He also said in the post his son was "then verbally assaulted the next day.... THIS IS A VIOLATION OF HIS CIVIL RIGHTS......School staff were the perpetrators in both instances." 
 
 Stone attends class at East Middle School, where he is in sixth grade, his father said. The 11-year-old told Chaney that he was a pulled out of his seat by one staffer then berated by another the next day. 
 
 The youth had declined to stand for the pledge since second grade after learning Chaney had also stopped as a way of decrying social injustices, he said. Stone hadn’t previously encountered problems for his stance and “doesn’t despise anyone for standing for the flag or saying the national anthem or the Pledge of Allegiance,” his father said Friday. “We just have our reasons, and those reasons are our right.” 
 
 Officials for the district said Friday the teacher has been placed on administrative leave while the matter is investigated. 
 
 "Farmington Public Schools offers every student the opportunity each day to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance," George Heitsch, the district's superintendent said in a statement. "The District fully supports the right of each student to participate or not in the daily Pledge. 
 
 East Middle School (Photo: Farmington Public Schools) 
 
 “In this particular instance, school leaders began their investigation as soon as they were made aware of the situation, which was the day before the most recent Board meeting. 
 
 “At Farmington Public Schools, we expect every child and adult in our district to be treated with dignity and respect. At this time, the District cannot speculate about the outcome of the pending investigation. We assure our parents and families that when any situation like this occurs, we remain committed to providing an education of excellence to every student.” 
 
 Chaney questioned why he didn’t learn about the incident from school officials and now is considering enrolling his son elsewhere. 
 
 The father said he’s speaking out to prevent it from happening to other students. 
 
 News of the situation, he added, has sparked much attention and an “overwhelming” amount of phone calls this week. 
 
 “We have kids who say they want to sit with Stone. To us that just warms our hearts because they know they have rights,” he said. 
 
 cramirez@detroitnews.com 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/2y3g89r ||||| Stone Chaney, 11, left, poses with his younger brother River Chaney, 10, on the first day of school last week. (Photo: Brian Chaney) 
 
 Ever since Stone Chaney was a second-grader at Beechview Elementary School in Farmington Hills, he's sat during the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance with no incident. 
 
 That changed last week at East Middle School on the third day of the school year, when the sixth-grader says he was yanked out of his chair by one teacher on Thursday and yelled at by another the next day when he didn't stand for the pledge. 
 
 Now one of the teachers has been placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of an investigation by Farmington Public Schools. Stone, 11, and his parents are drawing attention to the incident because they don't want to see it happen to other children. 
 
 "I'm doing this for me, my brothers, everyone across the state and everyone across the country," said Stone, whose parents pulled him out of school this week and are weighing their options. Stone, a sixth-grader, said he doesn't want to go back to East. 
 
 "I want to go to school, but not there. I don't feel safe going there," said Stone, who said his decision to sit during the pledge came well before football player Colin Kaepernick received national attention for kneeling during the national anthem. 
 
 Read more 
 
 The incidents began Thursday morning during Stone's homeroom class at East. When it was time to say the Pledge, Stone did what he normally does: He stayed seated. 
 
 "I was in my chair doing my homework ... All of a sudden I'm being snatched out of my chair. I told the lady that I don't stand for the pledge and she just kind of glared at me," said Stone, 11. 
 
 "I was confused when it happened because I didn't know what was going on. And then i was irritated because that's not supposed to happen," Stone said. 
 
 The next day, when another teacher was in his homeroom class, Stone was working on a work sheet when the pledge was being recited. In the middle of the pledge, he said, the teacher noticed him sitting. 
 
 "She starts yelling at me, telling me to get up. I just kept doing my work," he said. "She speed walks over to me, yells at me to get up. She wanted to know why. I told her that I don't pledge to a flag. I pledge to God and to my family." 
 
 George Heitsch, superintendent of Farmington Public Schools, where East is located, said in a statement that the district offers every student the opportunity to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance and expects "every child and adult in our district to be treated with dignity and respect." 
 
 "The district fully supports the right of each student to participate or not in the daily Pledge," Heitsch said. 
 
 "In this particular instance, school leaders began their investigation as soon as they were made aware of the situation, which was the day before the most recent board meeting," Heitsch said. "The teacher allegedly involved in the incident has been placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of the investigation." 
 
 The statement doesn't say which of the two teachers has been placed on leave. 
 
 Brian Chaney, Stone's father, said he and his son are being vocal about the incident because they don't want it to die down. 
 
 "We want people to know people have rights. You can't put your hands on children, or adults, for this reason," said Chaney, a social worker in the Pontiac School District. 
 
 "I have four sons. If I let them do that to my oldest, what’s going to happen to the second, third, fourth one. I have to make a stance for this," Chaney said. "I’m looking at my son as a hero. He believes in what he believes in. He's not worried about what other people think of him." 
 
 Chaney said he'd prefer to keep his son, who he said receives top grades, in the Farmington district, because "we've had a wonderful relationship." 
 
 "We don't want to paint the whole district with one whole brush," he said. 
 
 Chaney became emotional during a phone interview, crying as he talked about the leader he says his son has become. 
 
 "How many kids would be such critical thinkers and leaders to be able to walk to their own beat and blaze their own path. He didn't follow anybody." 
 
 Stone was asked what he would say to those who are critical of people who don't stand during the Pledge. 
 
 "They have their beliefs and I have mine," Stone said. "If they feel a separate way, that's OK. That's their opinion. I respect that." 
 
 He began sitting during the pledge when he was a second-grader after visiting his father at the school at which he worked. He noticed that his father doesn't stand for the pledge and asked why. 
 
 "He said it was his right not to stand. I chewed on it for a while, processed it. And then I realized what he was saying," Stone said. 
 
 And that's when he decided that he didn't want to stand either. 
 
 "Right now, what we're trying to do is see change, so this will never happen again," Stone said. "So all the teachers are taught to do the right thing." 
 
 "And held accountable," his father added. 
 
 "And held accountable," said Stone. 
 
 Contact Lori Higgins: 313-222-6651, lhiggins@freepress.com or @LoriAHiggins 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/2xF1Bo6 ||||| FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) - A staff member is on administrative leave after a student says a teacher assaulted him because for not standing for the pledge. 
 
 According to Brian Chaney, his 11-year old son Stone Chaney was in homeroom class the first week of school when a teacher snatched him out of his seat and forced him to stand for the pledge. 
 
 "He said, 'During the pledge the teacher snatched me out of my chair,'” Brian said. 
 
 Stone is a sixth grader at East Middle School in Farmington Hills. 
 
 He says he’s been sitting for the pledge since second grade when his father explained why he had the choice. 
 
 His father says there’s never been an issue until now. 
 
 Stone says the next day, another teacher yelled at him for the same thing, asking him if he had permission to sit during the pledge. 
 
 "For him to be violently snatched out of his chair by a lady and order him to stand and for her to just glare at him, it's wrong, it's a violation of civil rights.” 
 
 Farmington Public Schools Superintendent George Heitsch says they’re investigating the allegations. 
 
 “We respect the rights of any individual to make personal choices around issues of faith and beliefs. We're disappointed that we're even having the conversation,” Heitsch said. 
 
 One staff member has been placed on administrative leave.
– A Michigan teacher is on leave over allegations she got physical with a sixth-grade student over his refusal to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, the Detroit News reports. In a Facebook post, Brian Chaney says his son Stone was "violently snatched from his chair" by a teacher Sept. 7 at East Middle School in Farmington. "The teacher consultant comes up behind me and snatches me out of my chair violently," the 11-year-old tells Click on Detroit. "I was so confused. I didn't know what was going on." Stone tells the Detroit Free Press he was yelled at by a different teacher when he again refused to stand for the pledge the following day. Both incidents happened during his first week at East Middle School, and he says he doesn't feel safe going back. Chaney is considering moving his son to a new school. The teacher who allegedly pulled Stone from his chair has been placed on administrative leave while an investigation is underway. "The district fully supports the right of each student to participate or not in the daily pledge." superintendent George Heitsch says in a statement. He adds to WXYZ: "We're disappointed that we're even having the conversation." Stone says he hasn't stood for the Pledge of Allegiance since second grade, inspired by his father's similar protest. "I don't pledge to a flag," Stone tells Click on Detroit. "I pledge to God and family." Chaney says his son's protest of the pledge has never been a problem in the past. Now he's accusing East Middle School of violating Stone's civil rights. “We just have our reasons [for protesting]," Chaney tells the News. "And those reasons are our right.”