Girl suspended for highlighted hair

[sunshine873]

I totally agree with what the school did. But then, I got detention for not wearing socks at my high school. It was pretty strict.

OMG - gatorsmom didn't wear socks, mariza wearing the wrong shoes - what kind of chaos is going on here on the BBB? Who knew we had such blatant rule breakers?

[dogmom]

J Baxter, cute photo.

I wonder if this is a regional thing. I've never lived anywhere with a no hair dye rule in schools, so it does seem really odd to me. But maybe for small town Texas it's common. I'm pretty sure the Supreme Court has ruled dress codes are Constitutional. I don't think that makes this one fair though.

Are you telling me all those Texan cheer leaders are naturally blond?

[SnuggleBuggles]

I admit, when my 11 and 13 yo niece and nephew got off the plane for a visit and they had green hair (nephew) and black with hot pink (niece), I cringed. I might feel differently when my kids are that age but I think it's too young for extreme things like that. However, the girl that this post is regarding? Non issue.

Beth

[MelissaTC]

I think the whole thing is absurd. I was expecting to see something truly distracting or "off the wall". I saw a news story about a girl that had a bunch of different colors in her hair and it stood up, so she was very distracting. I am going to see if I can find a link to her picture.

ETA- Here is the link- http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13918788

In any case, I don't care what kids do to their hair. Shouldn't they, meaning the educators, be more focused on learning? Maybe they should keep a watchful eye on the troublemakers, the kids who come in dirty and hungry, the ones with the bruises, etc... It is just hair people!

[kijip]

On a very basic level, I just don't understand why a school would have a rule about hair color. FTR, I have never dyed my hair a different color other than a 6 month college period with very natural looking highlights. But my brother did, big time. Pink, purple, green, orange, black etc. And if his school had made an issue of it, it would have just turned him more off school. As it was, it took a lot of my time and his teacher's time to get him to a point where he could graduate and pass the state exams. I am glad that they focused on his success regardless of his unorthodox appearance (hair, piercings, his gender stuff, his ridiculous clothing), rather than arguing with him about a non-issue like his hair. Frankly, I think had they made a super big deal about it, he might have dropped out. Most kids in this country are not ready for college when they graduate, many drop out. The schools need to put their time and efforts into things that actually matter, like making sure graduates can read and write and figure at a 12th grade level when they leave school.

Rules like this just add another reason I am glad to be a homeschooler.

[WolfpackMom]

I think the whole thing is absurd. I was expecting to see something truly distracting or "off the wall". I saw a news story about a girl that had a bunch of different colors in her hair and it stood up, so she was very distracting. I am going to see if I can find a link to her picture.

ETA- Here is the link- http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13918788

In any case, I don't care what kids do to their hair. Shouldn't they, meaning the educators, be more focused on learning? Maybe they should keep a watchful eye on the troublemakers, the kids who come in dirty and hungry, the ones with the bruises, etc... It is just hair people!

I was thinking of this article too! I can see how this would be distracting, the one OP is talking about, this, not so much, Anyways, I would think these things might be distracting for like a day, and then move on people - carrying it out with all the fuss is what makes it a distraction. While I personally wouldnt be thrilled to have my daughter do this, I did dye my hair a plum/red color when I was in 8th grade...the wash out kind that I bought myself though, no way my mom was forking out money for me to go get highlights.

[Melaine]

I think it's pretty simple. If the handbooks says not to, then nobody should be allowed to. I didn't think her hair was flamboyant but the next kid might color his hair purple. If they dont' treat all the kids the same, it's not fair to anyone. And eventually the handbooks won't mean anything.

I totally agree with what the school did. But then, I got detention for not wearing socks at my high school. It was pretty strict.

I agree with this, but the article confused me. They mentioned distraction and the handbook but never said what the specific rule was. If no hair color was allowed then she should have been suspended. If the rules allowed more "grey" area, like bright colors were a no-no but summer highlights were allowed, then I think they went overboard. I'm unclear from the article if haircolor is banned altogether.

I think it's really important for children to learn to follow the rules. One of my pet peeves is seeing parents allow their children to break rules. It happens ALL. THE. TIME. and it drives me nuts.
At the mall play place, kids who are way too tall based on the posted height limits are running around like crazy. I'm talking 8 and 9 year olds. Meanwhile, I know that in a few months I will have to tell my tall four year olds that they have to stop playing, which is absurd as they are the calmest most sedate children who are intimidated by the rowdy two year olds around them.

At the YMCA, the rule is that food is to be eaten at the tables on the tile floor, and NOT carried around the carpeted area or into the play place. Almost every day, I see parents chasing their toddlers around with food all over the place or giving them candy and letting them take it into the playground. Meanwhile, my kids are sitting at the table calmly eating because I'm the hard-ass mommy who follows the rules.

Inside the playplace, there will be several kids climbing up the slide. They have to take off their socks to do this. My kids beg to take off their socks so they can climb up the slide, but the sign clearly says, "SOCKS MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES". So, my kids have to watch all these older children playing on the slide while they are stuck in their dumb socks.

These are just three of many examples I notice every day of parents teaching their children that they are above the rules or somehow exceptions to the standards others are following. Years ago, you might see one child breaking the rules. Now, however, I feel that my children are an exception to the rules as often they are the only ones following them.

Can you tell this bothers me? All that to say, I applaud the school for enforcing the rules. Maybe the mom didn't know them, and I don't think the highlights themselves were a bad parenting choice (I wouldn't let my kid do it at that age though) but I do think that the rules should BE FOLLOWED.

[o_mom]

I agree with this, but the article confused me. They mentioned distraction and the handbook but never said what the specific rule was. If no hair color was allowed then she should have been suspended. If the rules allowed more "grey" area, like bright colors were a no-no but summer highlights were allowed, then I think they went overboard. I'm unclear from the article if haircolor is banned altogether.

From what I found on their district website, it was that "inappropriate" colors were banned, not all hair coloring, and the examples given were orange and green. When I looked at the picture, the red was very close to a natural red, maybe a touch brighter, but not in the 'clearly unnatural' category, IMO. If she had been a redhead that dyed blonde streaks, I think the effect would have been similar.

[Melaine]

From what I found on their district website, it was that "inappropriate" colors were banned, not all hair coloring, and the examples given were orange and green. When I looked at the picture, the red was very close to a natural red, maybe a touch brighter, but not in the 'clearly unnatural' category, IMO. If she had been a redhead that dyed blonde streaks, I think the effect would have been similar.

Ok, then I think the suspension was overboard for sure. I don't think that her hair could have been perceived as "inappropriate" (although how arbitrary is that term?) in any way. So if I were the mom I would have been mad about it, for sure.

I still wish the rest of the world would start following the rules though, as stated in my above rant.

[TwinFoxes]

Are you telling me all those Texan cheer leaders are naturally blond?

Wait, they're not???