A Port Saint Lucie mother is upset after her 5th grade daughter told her she does not want to go back to school because of a question her teacher asked her and her friend in front of the entire class.

850 WFTL’s news partner WPTV talked to the mother, Jezenia Gambino, who says she learned it all started from a rumor going around Northport K-8 in Port Saint Lucie. The rumor eventually reached her daughters 5th grade teacher who then confronted the two girls in front of the entire class.

“The rumor was that my daughter and another 5th-grade little girl were dating,”…”She asked them if they were together if they were dating as a couple together and she asked them in a way that they felt they were in trouble,” said Gambino.

Gambino says she found out about the incident after her daughter’s friend sent her a text that made her daughter upset.

“She wasn’t sure if they should hang out together anymore because of what happened in school. She didn’t want anyone to think they were gay,” said Gambino.

Gambino reached out to the school’s principal which led the St. Lucie County School District to open an investigation.  a

The teacher was given a verbal warning.

Gambino believes the district has not done enough to protect her daughter and has enrolled her in homeschooling to finish the school year.