An Oklahoma newspaper stirred panic among parents of a local school district by publishing an April Fools’ Day story that claimed all students have to repeat their current grade next year.

The since-retracted fake story, which was intended to be a prank, was posted to Facebook by the Sapulpa Times, setting off a wave of worried inquiries to Sapulpa Schools, the district said.

“We’ve received a number of calls, texts, and Facebook messages expressing concern and asking about a post that was published on Facebook by Sapulpa Times this morning regarding our schools and students,” Sapulpa Public Schools said Wednesday on its official Facebook account.

The district added that they were unaware of the fake story until after it was published. It called the newspaper’s prank “ill-advised and in poor taste,” the Tulsa World reported.

Students in the state have switched to remote learning for the remainder of the year as a protective measure against the coronavirus.

The owner and editor of the paper, Micah Choquette, later sent an apology letter to the school.

Choquette called the prank “a poor attempt at an April Fools’ joke that has turned much more sour than we anticipated.

“In hindsight, publishing the story was a mistake and the joke was not funny to a lot of the anxious parents and teachers who are dealing with preparing for distance learning next week,” Choquette said.

“We sincerely apologize for any grief or stress the story may have caused.”

With Post wires