new thread
I ran across this one and it does has a message board.
while many that posted think that it's a stupid rule and violates the students rights,but unfortunatly there are also those that agree with the school dress code.
Occasionally I've read people's stories about being forced to cut their hair at PRIVATE schools, but I honestly did not know that in the United States in 2008, PUBLIC schools could force students to cut their hair. That just floors me, scares me. I went to public school in Kansas, and while I never had long hair then, I saw many guys who did have long hair and it never seemed to be an issue with the school. I always thought public school eduation was the one sphere of society where males could wear long hair and not have it be an issue. I've never heard of a public university requiring male students to cut their hair, so why can public K-12 schools make this requirement?
I assumed there were some anti-discrimination laws that were uniformly applied to all public institutions of eduation in the United States. In most states, you HAVE to attend school until a certain age, usually around 16. Some places, especially rural areas, only have one district and one school available. To go to another school, you might have to drive 30 miles one way (like in some parts of Kansas). Another thing is some states don't let you transfer or attend public school in a district that you don't live in. You have to attend the school in your district. Isn't it some violation of constitutional rights to force students to both attend school AND cut their hair to comply with the dress code? I could see the other side's argument if school attendance was optional, but it's not, it's required.
I hope those families fight this in the courts. Take it to the federal courts. That school district in Kerens, Texas needs to be taught a lesson. They're on the wrong side of history and I don't think their antiquated hair length code will stand up in the federal courts.
This one definitely takes the cake for the most blatant and unjust case of discrimination against long-haired males that I have ever seen in my life. I'm going to follow this case. I knew private schools and private employers could do this, but not public schools. Something is really wrong with that. I have a suggestion for the Kerens, Texas school board. Why not vote to privatize your district so you can run it any way you want? If you take tax dollars, you have to educate every student! I'm livid!
Thanks Jason for first posting this story.
-Sunflower
That school is so ridiculous. I don't understand how they can consider it distracting when the students have their hair pulled back, and even tucked into their shirts. A lot of the comments people make don't even make sense. They talk about tattoos and piercings and how kids don't listen today with their baggy clothes and chains. These aren't the same kids that have long hair. The kids with long hair in these articles are straight A students so why are they being taught a lesson about following ridiculous rules. If anything I think the school board needs to be taught a lesson by these kids about not discriminating based on sex.
I read ALL the messages, and one of them quotes the e-mail address of the school superintendent:-
StanfordK@kerens.k12.tx.us
We know where to send the petition now!
wherever that is.
this kid's hair wasn't really long, just a bit bushy and this lady told him to get 2 Ib's cut off.
it's obvious it's for some school play or something, but would she ask the same of a female student?
this would've been acceptable when I was in highschool. we seemed to be becoming more militaristic in the U.S. imho.
many of the hairstyles worn by the male characters on "that `70's show" would be too long for peoples standards today.
...Like my dad, for example, --- if he were still alive, that is!
Small-minded cookie-cutter mentalities are nothing new under the sun, though. I think Robert said it best in his reply to a similar thread below, since he has lived in the South all his life, and knows all too well how and why a small town such as that Texas school's can have such a narrow-minded outlook...
There was a time in the US when the majority of folks in American society seemed SHOCKED and APPALLED at interracial marriages (and I'm not talking just about the Spouthern part of the US, either)... or, when Blacks in the South had to sit at the back of the bus (as well as water fountains being labled, "Whites Only" and the inferior-operating one, "Colored").
Understanding Human Rights and making social progress is a s-s-s-l-l-l-l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-owww process, historically-speaking (unfortunately). It's always easy to come up with self-justifications for following foolish "rules"; but, wrong is just that: it's just plain WRONG!!!! The March of Human Progress is definitely on the side of these kids (and their parents that stand so wonderfully behind them!), --- and History will eventually NOT speak kindly of this school (or the stupidity of that school's current figures of so-called "Authority!"
Although, as Jason said in his original post, "It makes my blood boil!"; in all seriousness, mark my words: there will come a day (probably in the not-too-distant future, maybe even) when those currently in their positions of "power" in that silly little Texas town will eventually wake up, --- and be embarrassed by their own idiocy.
- Ken (who is ever-so GRATEFUL to live in San Francisco)
Here's the latest story:-
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/011008dnmetlonghairfolo.2140edc.html
The good news is that Matthew is transferring to another school in a different school disctrict without lame-brained hair restrictions, and it looks like at least one of the others will follow him.
The bad news is that their old school gets to determine punishment for them, and the new school will be forced to carry it out.
that sucks. why are they allowed to tell another school district what to do?
suppose they decide that the punishment will be shaved heads?
what then?
I think that Matthew and his Mom should stand their ground and get the ACLU involved and give the media as much coverage as possible so the rest of the country and the world can see how asinine this school administration and their rules are.
trust me, the kid is going to win. this is NOT 1968 this is 2008!!