I had a situation come up this evening with my daughter which is really bothering me. Any input/advice would be great. I am divorced from her dad, so it's just me with this, and no one to run these things by.

She is 8, in 3rd grade. When she came home from school tonight she was crying and she has been extremely upset since. She gave me a note from her teacher, which said simply Kali was caught cheating on a math test and I am apparently supposed to sign and return it tomorrow.

Problem is, she did not cheat on any test, it was an accusation made by a classmate that she was using a calculator on the test. When they searched her they found no calculator (she doesn't own a calculator). Still, they proceeded to accuse her. She is a good girl... honest, straight A student.

Long story short, I sent a very strongly worded email to her teacher saying that I was not about to sign any statement that my daughter cheated unless they had some real proof other than the words of another 8 year old child. There's a reason why hearsay isn't allowed in a court of law.

The response I received was that they 'cannot ignore such accusations of cheating' whatever the source and that it had to be addressed. So they punished her... this was today before I even HEARD about it... with detention.

She is devastated. Am I wrong to think this is ridiculous? I am going to push this to the school board level and then whatever level after that which is necessary. Do they have no idea what kind of damage it does to accuse someone --- especially a CHILD --- of doing something that he/she did not do? What does that teach them? What does it do to their confidence, to their self-esteem? Why would adults, supposedly teachers/mentors, do this to a child?