MANCHESTER, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri substitute teacher is seeking answers after claiming he was banned because he thanked students for saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

Jim Furkin has worked as a sub for about a decade in St. Louis County’s Parkway School District.

Furkin told the school board Thursday that he was subbing in a freshman English class at Parkway South High School in October. During the pledge, most, but not all, students stood.

Furkin says he thanked those who stood. One student went to a counselor. An administrator told Furkin the student complained he had been “hurt” by Furkin’s comment.

District spokeswoman Cathy Kelly wouldn’t comment on Furkin’s specific case but says students choose whether to participate in the pledge, “and our role as educators is not to make a judgment about that choice.”