Boy, 4, may be further punished for hair

[The Straight Story]

Boy, 4, may be further punished for hair

MESQUITE, Texas, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- A 4-year-old Texas boy whose long hair has been the subject of an ongoing dispute with the school district may be sent to in-school suspension, officials said.

Mesquite Independent School District officials said Taylor Pugh, 4, who has been learning solo in the library since the battle over his hair length began in November, may be forced to continue his pre-kindergarten education at Floyd Elementary School's in-school suspension next week if he continues to violate the dress code with hair that reaches past his shirt collar, The Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday.

"There would be people checking on him from time to time, but it wouldn't be the same attention he has now," district spokeswoman Laura Jobe said of the difference between the boy's current library setup and in-school suspension.

The school board ruled Monday that Taylor could return to class if his hair was arranged into tight braids that did not extend past his collar. However, his parents said the boy's hair takes too long to braid and the stress causes his scalp to bleed.

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/01/13/Boy-4-may-be-further-punished-for-hair/UPI-45811263417895/

wait, 4 years old and in school??? Times have indeed changed.

[niyad]

1. yes, because the length of his hair is realllllly important. un-friggin'-believable.

[TwixVoy]

2. Why is there not a sex discrimination law suit?

Schools are legally prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, sex, religion, etc.

This is clearly sex discrimination.

[varelse]

4. Yes it is

you are the first person I've seen touch on that point, and it is a valid one.

[flvegan]

3. So is it that the length is a "distraction" or something? Cuz yeah, braids

would be totally different.

[htuttle]

5. WTF? Are they stuck back in 1974?

The school is pissed off about long hair?

Good thing none of the kids has a mohawk... :eyes:

:wtf:

[xxqqqzme]

6. Mesquite

Independent School District? Doubt it!

[Canuckistanian]

7. Where are the teachers in all of this?

Do they support this madness? if it were my own wife (a teacher of 20 years), she'd be raising holy Hell with the teacher's union and school board and tutoring the kid on her own time.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

8. This is why I hate Texas...

There was a post recently asking for tolerance when it comes to Red States, but you just can't defend this and it would NEVER
happen in my Blue State.

[southerncrone]

9. Yes, Ladies & Gentlemen, here we have a classic modern-day stand-off between

school officials & parents.

There are two ways of looking at this:
1) Why can't his parents follow the school dress code like all other parents of students at the school?

2) Is the dress code for 4 year olds overly stringent? Would the school be better served fighting more academic battles, like enforcing attendance, or behavior?

I teach in a rural Southern school, albeit high school, not 4 yr olds. Dress codes are in place to keep distractions out of the classroom (we have enough w/o clothing issues), and to assure good hygiene for all students. The issue of head-lice is extremely problematic in the elementary schools, so I can only speculate that there may have been continued incidents of head-lice w/this child. Otherwise, if girls may have long hair, then what's the problem?