A public teacher in Pennsylvania was put on leave after allegedly calling a Palestinian American middle school student an extremist, the school district and a Muslim advocacy group said.
The Central Dauphin School District said on Saturday it had learned about the allegations that the teacher made the comment last week in an after-school program.
"The teacher involved in the alleged incident is on administrative leave pending our investigation," the district said in a statement, adding it had no tolerance for racist speech.
The Council on American Islamic Relations said the allegation was that the teacher had remarked, "I do not negotiate with terrorists," when the Palestinian American student asked for a seat change.
The district and CAIR did not name the teacher or the student. CAIR said it was in touch with the child's parents.