NEW YORK — The new head of the nation’s largest school district said Thursday he would look into the case of a 7-year-old special needs boy who was handcuffed by police after he became violent while working on an Easter art project and threatened teachers with scissors.

First-grader Joseph Anderson became upset last week at his Queens elementary school because his art project, Easter egg painting, didn’t look the way he wanted. Department of Education officials said the school tried to defuse the situation and then called police when there was a concern the boy would harm himself or others. Police said he was violent and threatening, biting and spitting, and officers restrained him and took him to a hospital for evaluation.

The boy’s mother, Jessica Anderson, said he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, delayed speech and emotional problems. She said she is upset that he was taken to a hospital in handcuffs even though she said she was on her way to get him.

“If he hears an ambulance, he runs under the bed and screams, ‘They’re going to get me’.”