The American Civil Liberties Union is demanding {that a} Kansas elementary college repeal a coverage it says forbids boys from sporting lengthy hair after an 8-year-old Native American scholar was allegedly compelled to chop his or be despatched residence.
In a letter despatched Friday to R.V. Haderlein Elementary Faculty in Girard, Kansas, the ACLU stated that the boy in query, a member of the Wyandotte Nation, grew his hair out final summer season after attending his nation’s Gathering of the Little Turtles, the place he noticed different Native males sporting their hair lengthy.
This allegedly violated Haderlein’s “Boy’s Hair Size” coverage — a coverage that doesn’t apply to ladies on the college.
Because of this, the ACLU says, the boy was instructed in August he wanted to chop his hair or be despatched residence till he does.
In accordance with the letter, his mom visited the college in early September to request an exemption, even providing to point out documentation proving the kid’s Native heritage.
She was knowledgeable there have been no exemptions, the ACLU says, and after quite a few failed makes an attempt to contact the superintendent, she made the choice to have her baby’s hair reduce so he may maintain attending college.
“As a result of he made the choice to put on his hair lengthy in accordance along with his Native American non secular and cultural custom,” the letter states, “slicing his hair on this method brought about him misery.”
The ACLU maintains that this coverage as utilized to the kid violates state and federal legislation, and constitutes spiritual in addition to sex-based discrimination.
“Requiring him to chop his hair to attend college imposes a considerable burden on his religion observe as a result of, in and of itself, it violates his spiritual beliefs,” the letter states.
It additionally promotes “inflexible views of gender norms and roles,” and is illegal as a result of “colleges might not impose totally different necessities on college students primarily based on their intercourse with out an exceedingly persuasive justification.”
The coverage is especially troubling, the letter says, given the historic context of Indian boarding colleges on this nation, which stripped Native American youngsters of their identities by, amongst different abuses, slicing their hair.
The letter urges the college district to rescind the hair-length coverage in its entirety, or grant an instantaneous exception to the Native American baby.
It asks the college to let the ACLU know by Dec. 1 whether or not it plans to honor this request.
The college couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.
