TAUNTON, Mass. -- Taunton's school superintendent defended actions by school administrators amid demands from the mayor to apologize to the family of a second-grader who was sent home from school and required to undergo a psychological evaluation after drawing a stick-figure picture of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Chester Johnson, the boy's father, said he got a call on Dec. 2 from Maxham Elementary School telling him that his son had created a violent drawing depicting a crucified Jesus with Xs covering his eyes to signify that he had died on the cross.

“He meant no harm. He believes in Jesus,” Johnson said.

After a public uproar when the incident became public, Mayor Charles Crowley said he wanted School Superintendent Julie Hackett to apologize to the Johnson family.

Hackett released a statement Tuesday evening, indicating that the boy was not suspended and that the drawing published is not the same drawing discovered by the teacher.

"This incident occurred nearly two weeks ago, it was handled appropriately and the school staff and family had been working together in a cooperative and positive manner," the statement read.

The statement indicated that school administrators acted within protocol for the student's care and well-being.

"It is unfortunate that the actions of our district staff have been classified as 'religious' in nature, when, in fact, they were based solely on the well-being of the student," the statement read.

Neither Johnson nor the mayor was immediately available for comment after the school system released its statement Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Hackett told NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper that the picture offered by the family was not the drawing in question.

"That picture is not the same as the one presented to the teacher," Hackett said, but she would not say what was different.

The student drew the picture shortly after taking a family trip to see the Christmas display at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette, a Christian retreat site in Attleboro.

The boy's father, who released a drawing to the media, said his son made the drawing in class after his teacher asked the children to sketch something that reminded them of Christmas.

The school system's statement refuted the claim, saying, "It has not been established whether the drawing was actually completed in school," and "There was no request or assignment by the teacher for students to sketch something that reminded them of Christmas or any religious holiday."

Johnson said his son, who gets specialized reading and speech instruction at school, has never shown any tendency toward violence.

"This is what he believes. If he wants to say this is Jesus and this is him resting, then those are his beliefs," he said. “He’s never been suspended. He’s 8 years old. They overreacted."

“He's 8 years old. If we are going to analyze the drawings of an 8-year-old looking for violence, then we have a problem,” said Toni Saunders, an educational consultant who represents the family.

“They weren’t looking at the fact that this is an 8-year-old child with special needs,” she said. “They made him leave school, and they recommended that a psychiatrist do an evaluation.”

School officials planned to meet with the Johnson family Wednesday.

The boy was cleared to return to school the next week after the psychological evaluation found nothing to indicate that he posed a threat to himself or others.

"They can sugarcoat this any way they like. It was wrong," Johnson said.

Crowley said he wants a school-wide policy put into place to prevent such an incident from happening again. He also ordered the school department to pay for the psychiatric exam the child had to undergo as a condition of returning to school.