Preschooler faces expulsion from Christian school over hairstyle

[Virginia Dare]

everybody knows Jesus sported a crew-cut..:eyes: What a bunch of racist POS's. I hope the parents sue the shit out of them.

Three-year-old Jayce Brown is being threatened with expulsion from Southern Maryland Christian Academy if he doesn’t change his hairstyle.
Jayce has dreadlocks, as do his parents, and does not want a new hairdo.

‘‘I want to have my hair like my daddy’s,” he said as he pushed his mom’s hands away from his hair in a recent interview at his home.

‘‘He doesn’t even know what a haircut is, but I am sure he would not be happy if I told him we had to make his hair short,” said his mother, Danielle Brown of Waldorf.


http://somdnews.com/stories/100507/indymor101644_32114.shtml

[LanternWaste]

1. More from story...

More from story...

"The policy in the school’s student handbook states that male students are not allowed to have ‘‘extremely faddish styles including the use of rubber bands or the ‘twisting’ of hair.’” The policy also states male students are not to have hair unnaturally colored, or covering more than half the ear. Hair also must not touch the eyebrows or collar or be more than two inches high."

Seems to me that the student and parents simply weren't following pre-existing policies.

[-..__...]

2. Nothing to see here...

move along.

[NYVet]

4. You are right...

The reason that there is nothign to see here is because the parents knew the standards before they enrolled the child at the school.

[Fleshdancer]

7. They claimed they didn't

They were never given the dress code prior to and during the enrollment process. They also claim there are white male students who have hair styles that don't obey these rules and aren't being threatened for expulsion.

[Fleshdancer]

3. more from the story....

But what Brown said she signed did not mention the student handbook policies, which is where the dress code is found.

The statement every parent is required to sign, according to the letter from Gaines, reads, ‘‘By signing below I acknowledge I⁄we have read, understand and are bound by all SMCA policies as noted by the contractual agreement. I⁄we have also read the Statement of Cooperation, and by signing, in agreement to the terms therein.”

But nowhere in the Contractual Agreement and the Statement of Cooperation provided to the Maryland Independent by Brown does it require parents to agree to the dress code.

[CoffeeCat]

6. I'm pretty sure this child...

...showed up on the first day of school with his hair like this.

I'm sure his hair didn't conform to the standards on the first day of preschool.

Where were the administrators and teachers when this child was initially registered.

School has been in session for a while...why is this an issue now?

(On another note. Why would anyone want to attend a school that has such a Fascist
hair agenda? It's a bit bizarre).

[Fleshdancer]

9. good pont. why did it take an entire month to send the initial letter?

The part that gets me is that the parents are claiming there are white male students enrolled at the school whose hair styles don't follow the strict guidelines and yet they haven't received letters. If this is true, the school has some explaining to do. Also, if you have strict dress codes, then the school usually notifies the parents early on. Having it on the school website isn't enough.

[Virginia Dare]

17. Yep...this is obviously a case of racism..

that was the part that Lantern Waste missed I think. I should add too that this area in Maryland has just recently become majority African-American. Of late, they've been experiencing a number of hate crimes such as cross burnings and racist graffiti.

[LanternWaste]

35. It may or may not be a case of racism.

It may or may not be a case of racism. I was merely providing what appeared to me to be additional and relevant information. I'm making no judgments, and few hypotheses.

[LanternWaste]

34. Possibly it had been an issue

Possibly it had been an issue-- the administrators may have thought they could simply deal with it by mentioning it to the student, and then the parents-- allowing them some leeway in time to then adhere to school policy. Possibly, the reason it then became an issue is that the parents ignored the requests.

Fascist Hair Agenda? That's a new one on me... :rofl:

[gatorboy]

40. Coming up with your own favorite hypothesis now?

I thought we weren't doing that. Sheesh. :eyes:

[LanternWaste]

46. I believe I wrote

I believe I wrote, "I'm making no judgments, and few hypotheses." Few meaning-- not a lot.

But to each their own.

[gatorboy]

48. Actually you wrote:

"Come up with your favorite hypothesis as to what happened if you like. I'm not going to, but feel free to..."

But like you said, to each their own...

[gatorboy]

15. Then the school should've said something before he was enrolled.

Are you telling me they hadn't seen this kid prior?

[LanternWaste]

36. Simply providing more info from the story...

"Are you telling me they hadn't seen this kid prior?"
I'm not telling you anything. Simply providing more info from the story. Sheesh.


Come up with your favorite hypothesis as to what happened if you like. I'm not going to, but feel free to...

[SeattleGirl]

52. Since when are dreadlocks "faddish"?

:shrug:

[Virginia Dare]

57. Especially on a three year old...n/t

[Turbineguy]

5. Having the right hair

is THE most important thing. How can you learn if your hair isn't right?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

8. This is a belssing in disguise for the child and parents.

Now he can go to a nonreligious school.

[Virginia Dare]

11. Agreed..

he was interviewed last night and he is a very adorable and smart little boy, he's too good for them.

[shanti]

27. he definitely

is cute as a button!

[SpiralHawk]

10. Jesus HATES long-haired bearded types

So take a Wide Stance, stop thinking for yourself and being an individual, and act like good little republicon clone drones

[DBoon]

12. The parents should find another school

The rule is idiotic, but it is a private school and I assume there are others without the rule

[mondo joe]

13. The (private) school is within its rights to be stupid. NT

[qanda]

14. The question I have is why would she want her child to continue going to that school

It's obvious that they are nuts. Why would she want her child learning in that environment?

[Phillycat]

21. Exactly. Not only that they're nuts, but she believes they are RACIST.

So why would she subject her child to a racist environment on a daily basis??

[Virginia Dare]

22. Racism has been on the rise in this particular county..

as I posted further up thread. Middle to upper-middle class African-Americans have been moving to this county in large numbers, and they have just recently become the majority race. There have been some ugly incidents there of late.

[Phillycat]

31. Man. I don't think I'd mind being on the front lines of a community

race war (if I were a minority race), but I don't know about using my kid as a foot soldier. :shrug:

[RiverStone]

47. My thoughts exactly! ...n/t

[MindPilot]

16. "But Jesus had long hair..."

That one didn't work in Catholic school back in the 60s either. Standard parent/teacher/principal response: "you ain't Jesus."

[Freddie Stubbs]

24. There were no descriptions of him in the Bible

For all we know he had hair like Elvis.

[Sequoia]

45. Yes there is.

In the book of Revelation it says that the son of God had hair like lambs wool. What an idiot school. I went to a fundie boarding school when I was 6 and they cut off my waist long shiny black hair and then I was looked like Buster Brown. All the kids thought I was a Cherokee.

[Zywiec]

18. My son is an altar boy who used to have a mohawk

We asked him to comb his hair down whenever he was serving, but our pastor told him he should wear it up. So that's what he did.

Not all Christians are alike, and not all private schools are alike. Maybe he should find somewhere more tolerant.

[KittyWampus]

25. that pastor sounds like a good guy.

[Ellen Forradalom]

55. Oh wow. I'd love to see a pic of that

What a cool pastor.

[porphyrian]

19. Keep your kids out of Christian schools, for everyone's sake. -n/t

[Lurking Dem]

20. I had to cut my son's

rat tail off when he started public kindergarten. (They were popular at the time which I know seriously dates me.)

I had not cut it since he was born but had to lop it off before the first day of school or they wouldn't let him in the door.

[Virginia Dare]

23. As long as they use the same standards for everybody..

I really don't see a problem..this woman is alleging that they were using a different standard for her son.

[Evoman]

49. My brother had a rat-tail.

One of his classmates, a kid sitting behind him, cut it off. He had been growing that thing for YEARS since he was a little kid.

I was secretly happy. My brother and my parents were upset.

[SmokingJacket]

26. It's a private school, so what?

Whatever.

[gollygee]

28. I wouldn't send my kid to a school that cared that much about hair anyway

The school has a right to the rule, and now the parents can find a less restrictive school. They'll be happier, because that level of controlling behavior isn't going to stop at hair. They'd end up butting heads with that school over and over again.

[karlrschneider]

29. Tough noogies, it's a private school - they can have whatever rules they want.

:eyes:

[NeedleCast]

30. Confused. Is This a Day-Care or a School?

We're sending three year old's to school now?

[Virginia Dare]

32. Private preschool...n/t

[NeedleCast]

39. Is it a full-day thing?

Half day?

[Virginia Dare]

41. No idea...n/t

[Zywiec]

33. It's part of the "No Infant Left Behind" program. n/t

[NorthernSpy]

37. those aren't dreds

Twists and rows can cause traction alopecia, which can be permanent.

I'd say, release the kid's hair from the rubber bands, and then go looking for a school not run by unreasonable control freaks.

[Marrah_G]

38. It's a private school

They can have whatever dress codes they want. The parents are welcome to send him to public school.

[Virginia Dare]

42. There probably is no public preschool in that county...

it's a rare thing. I live in one of the wealthiest counties in the country, and it's very limited, it's only available to the most needy and at-risk kids. It was probably one of those deals where it was the most convenient place for them to take their kid. Big mistake on their part.

Also, I don't think it's an issue of what the school can and can't do in terms of dress code, the mother alleges that they weren't using the same standards for everybody.

[theboss]

43. Why should I care about the dress code at a private school?

I have bigger issues to worry about.

[Virginia Dare]

50. Why should I care about your issues?...n/t

[theboss]

51. You shouldn't

I still want to know why anyone should care about the dress code at a private school.

[Virginia Dare]

53. Obviously you don't

so ignore it, and go on to something that you do "get".

[proud2BlibKansan]

44. Private school

They can do whatever they want.

[NaturalHigh]

54. It's a private school, so there should be no issue.

They have every right to enforce their own codes, no matter how trivial they might seem.

[Virginia Dare]

56. The parents have the right to sue for discrimination too...n/t

[renie408]

58. They have the right to sue for anything they want. Whether they stand a chance of winning or not

I dunno.

The rules seem crazy to me and I would never send my kid to a school like that. But those are their rules. It definitely could have been handled better by the school, but I am not sure where the parents legal grounds lay.