CONWAY, S.C. – A biologically female student who identifies as male was suspended from a South Carolina high school for using the boy’s restroom in defiance of school rules.

The unidentified Socastee High School student left an assembly two weeks ago to use the restroom, passing teachers along the way, one of which asked him to use the closest restroom. The student said that bathroom was dirty so he went to the boy’s bathroom and the teacher followed him and reported the incident, WMBF reports.

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The incident came several months after another incident last fall, when a teacher saw the teen come out of the boy’s bathroom and decided to investigate.

“He must’ve looked at his records and saw the sex on his records because that’s the only way he could’ve known,” the boy’s mother told the news site.

School officials called the student to the office the next day and instructed him to use the bathroom that corresponds to his biological gender – the girl’s bathroom – or the nurse’s office. The student’s mother told WYFF the child had been using the boy’s restroom for three years following an incident in middle school.

“When the student started transitioning in middle school, female students complained about a boy being in the girl’s bathroom,” according to the news site. “The student’s family met with school administrators at Forestbrook Middle School and all decided the student should use the boy’s bathroom because that would be the most comfortable option for everyone.”

The student’s mother said she didn’t think it was a smart idea for the student to switch back to using the girl’s restroom, and the restroom in the nurse’s office was inconvenient, so she told the child to continue using the boy’s bathroom.

“If he started using the girl’s bathroom in 12^th grade, it’s going to create a problem,” the mother said. “I felt like that would be dangerous.”

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“He was holding it,” she said. “He was trying not to go and all of that’s unhealthy.”

The mother told WYFF school officials didn’t contact her about her son’s suspension, or provide her documentation for the reason. The boy is now taking classes online, but his mother isn’t happy about it.

“He had to stop drama,” she said. “He had to drop out of the play he was doing.”

A district spokeswoman told the media the district does not have a specific policy for transgender students and works to accommodate students on a case by case basis.

The boy’s mother contacted the U.S. Department of Education, which remains convinced that transgender students are protected by federal Title IX laws despite many legal experts who disagree, but school officials have been unwilling to make special accommodations without a doctor’s note, she said.

The incident sparked heated debate online.

“I can’t believe we live in a world where kids get to choose what sex they want to be,” Tammy Wrenn posted to Facebook. “’Identify’ is bull crap! You will never be anything but what you were naturally intended to be … I love Socastee high and they did a good job.”

“It upsets me that the High School would be so insensitive to this student’s needs and would purposely embarrass him in such a manner,” Charles Jennings wrote. “Where is the School District Board on this important issue?”

“I’m confused. Is a transgender male biologically male or female? Does he/she have a penis or a vagina?
Whatever. This is a sad ungodly mess,” Charlie Lee wrote.