COLUMBUS, Ga. -- A high school junior in Georgia has been suspended for 10 days for refusing to end a cell phone call to his mother who is a soldier in Iraq.

Kevin Francois, a 17-year-old student at Spencer High School in Columbus, said he was suspended for disorderly conduct Wednesday after a confrontation. He said the confrontation began when he was told to give up his cell phone at lunch during the call.

His mother, Sgt. 1st Class Monique Bates, left in January for a one-year tour and serves with the 203rd Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.

Francois, whose father was killed when he was 5 years old, has been living with a guardian in Columbus since her deployment overseas.

Francois got the call from his mother at 12:30 p.m., which he said was his lunch break. He said he went outside the school building to get a better reception. A teacher who saw Francois on his phone told him to hang up. He refused.

According to the Ledger-Enquirer, Francois said the teacher tried to take the phone, causing it to hang up. The paper said the student told them he then went with the teacher to the school's office to surrender his phone. His mother reportedly called again at 12:37 p.m. and left a message scolding her son about hanging up and telling him to answer the phone when she calls, the Ledger-Enquirer reported.

"Kevin got defiant and disorderly with Mr. Turner and another assistant principal," assistant Alfred Parham told the Ledger-Enquirer. "He got defiant with me. He refused to leave Mr. Turner's office. When a kid becomes out of control like that they can either be arrested or suspended for 10 days. Now being that his mother is in Iraq, we're not trying to cause her any undue hardship; he was suspended for 10 days."

The Muscogee County School District Board of Education's policy said students are allowed to have cell phones in school, but cannot use them during school hours.