Kansas school forced 8-year-old Native American boy to cut his hair, ACLU says

MISSION, Kan. — A Kansas grade school forced an 8-year-old Native American boy to cut off his hair after he grew it out for cultural causes, the American Civil Liberties Union stated.

In a letter despatched Friday, the ACLU demanded that the Girard School District rescind a coverage on the fundamental school that bars lengthy hair for boys, alleging it violates state and federal rules.

The boy, who’s member of the Wyandotte Nation, attended an annual tribal amassing aimed toward youngsters over the summer time. He noticed many males with lengthy hair and was once impressed to undertake the average cultural observe of reducing hair best when mourning the lack of a liked one, in accordance to the ACLU.

But in August, school officers informed him that he wanted to cut his hair to agree to the get dressed code, the ACLU stated. His mom went to the school in September and defined that he grew out his hair for cultural causes and presented to display documentation of his tribal association. The ACLU stated she was once informed there have been no exemptions.

The assistant main then emailed the mum on a Friday, telling her she had till the next Monday to get her son’s hair cut or he could be despatched house.

Unable to achieve the superintendent, she cut her son’s hair over that September weekend, satisfied it was once the one manner to stay him in school. But she stated it led to him misery as it violated his non secular custom.

The country’s historical past of “multifaceted efforts to separate Native American children from their families and tribes and to deny them their rights of cultural and religious expression” makes this particularly problematic, the letter said.

It noted that Native American children often had their hair cut when they were placed in boarding schools, which systematically abused students to assimilate them into white society.

The letter said there is no legitimate reason for imposing the requirement, noting that girls are allowed to have long hair. The policy also promotes “rigid views of gender norms and roles,” the letter said.

The superintendent, Todd Ferguson, told the Kansas Reflector that he could not comment on the case. Ferguson said the district would review the dress code policy during a December board meeting.

He did not immediately respond to an email message Saturday by The Associated Press seeking comment.

Girard has a inhabitants of round 2,500 and is positioned about 115 miles (185 kilometers) south of Kansas City.