Estevan Campos said Tuesday the principal at his Porterville Elementary School pulled him aside and told him he is not allowed to wear a rosary on campus.
The third-grader was told he was suspended for two days.
"I believe in God," Campos said. "That's my protection."
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Campos' father went to the administrative office when he was told his son wearing a rosary was a dress code violation.
Superintendent John Snavely said the rule was implemented two years ago after a local Catholic priest asked the district to stop the practice of students wearing rosaries as jewelry.
"He specifically requested that we send out a notice to all sites asking that if we see students displaying a rosary, we ask them to put it under their garments or to take it off and put it in their pockets," Snavely said.
Campos said, the rosary, which was a gift from his grandmother, was mostly under his shirt and it had nothing to do with gangs.
"It's glow-in-the-dark. I don't think that's gangster for kids," he said.