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Student suspended over hair design

By Jenny LaCoste-Caputo
Express-News

A Walzem Elementary School kindergartener was suspended this week because of a swirl design cut into his closely cropped hair.

Five-year-old Tyran Miller was getting out of his mom's car Monday morning when Principal Laura Huggins noticed the design.

“As soon as she saw his head, she said it was something she couldn't allow and that it was not conventional,” said Tyran's mother, Crystal Gray.

Gray was given the option of shaving Tyran's head or keeping him home until his hair grew out. If she sent him to school, she was told, he'd be in in-school suspension until the symbol was gone.

Gray opted for in-school suspension because she didn't want Tyran to stockpile absences, but she's worried because he's missing crucial time in his dual language classroom. He also missed a class field trip to the San Antonio Zoo on Tuesday.

“I was supposed to be a chaperone, so we were both looking forward to it,” she said.

North East Independent School District policy doesn't specifically address hairstyles for elementary students other than to say parents are strongly urged to enforce moderate hairstyles and high standards of dress. It also says: “While it is inevitable that there will be differences of opinion as to the appropriateness of dress and grooming, the final determination will be in the judgment of the building principal.”

Under additional information for middle and high school students, the dress code says: “Unconventional hairstyles (multicolored, spiked, Mohawk, etc.) that are considered to be distracting and/or disruptive to the educational environment are prohibited.”

Huggins said unusual hairstyles have been popping up more frequently in the past few weeks, and school administration has been cracking down. Students have been reprimanded for sporting Mohawks and “faux hawks” — when kids use gel or spray to make their hair stand up — as well as hair designs and unconventional colors. She said even though Tyran is a 5-year-old, she believes she has to enforce the rules uniformly.

“We've had the same situation with other students and have already set a precedent,” she said. “We're concerned about being fair and consistent.”

Gray said she and Tyran's father would never have had the design put in his hair if they had known it was against the rules. School administration told Gray on Monday that they had been considering specifically banning hair designs, but hadn't put anything in writing yet. A letter dated Monday came home with Tyran on Wednesday with specific examples of hairstyles considered distracting or disruptive, including designs cut into the hair. Deb Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the school district, stressed that the principal can make the call on what constitutes “unconventional.”

“I understand the letter had not gone home but the letter was just reinforcing a policy that already existed,” Caldwell said. “It was just letting parents know how the school would go forward with enforcing the district policy.”

Caldwell said that, while she doesn't believe this is the case in Tyran's situation, symbols in the hair at the middle and high school level have been tied to gang affiliation, which is why some principals have been banning them.

Gray said a little clarification would've been helpful. She has a problem with the definition of conventional being left up to one person, particularly when cultural differences exist. Huggins said there was a similar issue with a student this week who was scheduled to take the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. Tests are scheduled all week for students in elementary grades. That student was sent to class to take the test.

“We did not want the hairstyle to interfere with TAKS testing,” Huggins said. “This student will face consequences.”

This isn't the first time hairstyle has been an issue in public schools. Parents of a pre-kindergarten student in Dallas are appealing to the state education commissioner because officials in Mesquite Independent School District objected to his over-the-collar length hair. As a compromise, the Mesquite school board said the boy could wear his hair in braids close to his head and over his ears but his parents rejected it.

In Somerset ISD, board members last year voted to allow Jesus Figueroa to return to class at Somerset High without having to cut his shoulder-length hair — a symbol of his connection to his Native American roots. Figueroa's parents had sued the district in federal court.

In contrast, Gray said she doesn't want to fight so Tyran can keep his design. She'll be happy when it grows out — she's hoping by this weekend — so he can return to his classmates. She just wishes the rules would've been communicated more clearly.