A story from Sacramento Fox-affiliate KTXL about a local teacher’s controversial decision to ban the use of “bless you” following a sneeze has gained national attention this week, fueling debate on morning shows and online.

Earlier this week, KTXL reporter Rowena Shaddox interviewed Steve Cuckovich, a health teacher at a Bay Area public high school who had received complaints from parents about his practice of punishing students for saying “bless you” in his classroom, and he defended his policy (video above).

“It’s not got anything to do with religion, it’s got to do with an interruption of class time,” Cuckovich told Shaddox, adding that the term isn’t as culturally relevant as it was in “the old days.”

KTXL’s story has been picked up by several stations across California, including LA’s KABC and Fresno’s KFSN, and is now being covered by such far-reaching outlets as Gawker and the Daily Mail.

San Francisco’s KGO shot a follow-up story this week with Heather Ishimaru reporting that the school district was standing by Cuckovich. Video below…