That headline might sound ridiculous, but at the core of this story – that’s what’s going on.  And before you dismiss it, it’s far more common than you would think…

Happy Fathers Day from the New Jersey Politburo:

BACKSTORY – A 13-year-old New Jersey middleschooler was twirling a pencil in class.  Another student said he made it look like a gun and reported it to the teacher.

The teacher over-reacted, the school’s initial response compounded the stupidity.

Dad went public.

The community and media ridiculed the school heavily.  The School District Superintendent had no choice but to side with Dad – the entire incident was insufferably silly.

Embarrassed, and feeling pressure from both district administration and the media as well as the broader public, the school backed down, way down, even sending Dad an apology.

However, either for spite -or because they are constitutionally stupid- I’d guess the former, the administration of the school filed an “incident report” with Child Protection and Permanency, a division within the New Jersey CFS (Child Family Services).

That kicked 13-year-old junior and Dad into the New Jersey CFS system.

Dad was now demanded by the state to send junior to a psychologist for an evaluation.  That’s when things went downhill….. quickly.

New Jersey – […]  Letters to Ethan’s father, Michael, show the school found his son did nothing wrong at all, and that there would be no disciplinary action.  The superintendent was even confident the issue would be behind all of them.

And that’s exactly what happened, until Ethan’s father received startling communication from New Jersey’s Department of Child Protection and Permanency and Department of Children and Families.

“I received a letter from them saying they had found an incident of abuse or neglect regarding Ethan because I refused to take him for psychological evaluation,” Michael said.

In an effort to play along and clear his name, Michael agreed to take his son for an evaluation.

Ethan was seen by a social worker, and had his blood drawn and urine taken.  In the end, no behavioral problem was found.

The state, it seems, is ignoring that set of testing, demanding further evaluation and threatening that if Michael doesn’t comply, they are will terminate his parental rights and free Ethan up for adoption.  (read more – it actually gets worse)