A 12-year-old Black boy is suspended from school for “staring” at another student. The incident happened in Sept. 2014 at St. Gabriel Consolidated School in Glendale, Ohio, according to Fox 19.

The parents filed a lawsuit in Hamilton County Common Pleas court in an attempt to get the suspension erased, claiming the school didn’t give their son due process.

According to court papers, the female student “felt fearful.”

The incident happened on a Monday, with the girl’s parents notifying the school on a Tuesday. They allegedly notified Tolbert’s son on that day, but did not tell his parents until Wednesday. Tolbert says by the time she found out about the incident, her son had already written an apology letter, that she says she was unaware of.

“I never knew she was scared because she was laughing,” the 12-year-old wrote in the apology letter. “I understand I done the wrong thing that will never happen again. I will start to think before I do so I am not in this situation.”

A judge rejected the claim, and relatives say perception is to blame.

“The perception is he intimidated her,” said his mother Candice Tolbert during an interview with Fox 19. “My son stared at a girl who was engaged in a staring game. She giggled the entire time.”

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati responded on the school’s behalf to the incident.

“Judge Patrick Dinkelacker listened to the plaintiff’s arguments yesterday, rejected them, and dismissed the complaint against the school,” the statement read. “We aren’t going to comment any further on particular issues concerning our students.”

While the Tolbert’s aren’t quite ready to pull the race card yet, they are questioning how their son was treated.

“The same girl that accused my son of this act of perception of intimidation, aggressively poured milk on someone else’s lunch. When she did that there was no penalties for that. She received nothing for that,” said Tolbert.

The parents are considering appealing the judge’s decision.