HOUSTON—Two middle school students in Cy-Fair are learning a lesson about when a prank becomes a crime.

They were handcuffed, arrested and suspended after their practical joke forced the evacuation of Aragon Middle School.

According to school officials, the boy hid under a desk and when the teacher went to look for him, a girl pulled the fire alarm.

Now both students are facing felony charges.

The arrest might have caught the kids by surprise, but school officials said their zero tolerance policy should come as no surprise to students or parents.  

The students were charged because it’s against the law to set off a false fire alarm. 

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That information is available in Cy-Fair ISD’s student code of conduct.

District administrators released a statement on the incident Wednesday.

“Each student receives and parents sign the Student Code of Conduct. Clearly stated are the consequences for misconduct, which violate the Penal Code by involving elements of a false alarm in a public school,” the statement read.

Still, the parents of the students were shocked by the severity of the prank’s consequences.

Cindy Carreau’s son is the boy who hid under the desk.  She said she can’t defend what he did, but she didn’t know his actions were felonious.

“These kids think these are pranks. They are not pranks. He made a stupid mistake. He knows what he did, and he’s very remorseful,” Carreau said.

When the fire alarm went off, the entire school of 1,500 students had to be evacuated.

About 11 minutes of instruction time was lost.

A woman, who wanted to protect her identity, said it was her daughter who pulled the alarm.

She thinks the school should post signs next to the alarms, warning students of the consequences of a prank.

“If nothing else I would like to see notices posted next to the alarm informing the children that it is a felony offense if they do it on prank terms,” she said.