MISSION — Parents of a Sharyland ISD kindergartener filed a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on Thursday over the district placing their son in in-school suspension for refusing to cut his hair, a violation of the district’s dress code.
In their complaint, Paola Torres and Daniel Rodriguez say their 5-year-old son is Latino and Native American, and that he comes from a family in which the men wear their hair long, sometimes never cutting it.
They worked with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas on the complaint after months of disagreement between themselves and the district over the boy’s long hair.
Long hair, they say in their complaint, is part of the boy’s identity.
“He has always worn long hair as a way of expressing his culture, heritage, and religious beliefs,” the complaint read, adding that the boy believes it would “tarnish his family’s legacy and violate his heritage, culture, and religious beliefs to be forced to cut his hair.”
According to the complaint, the boy attended parts of his pre-K year in person with his hair long last year without it affecting his learning or the school environment.
He also attended a meet-the-teacher night for his kindergarten year in August without any hiccups over his hair.
The disagreement between the boy’s parents and the district began, the complaint says, later that month. An assistant principal at Martinez Elementary called Torres, it says, and told her she’d need to have the boy’s hair cut or he’d be punished.
Torres told the administrator that the boy’s hair was part of his culture and submitted a letter to the district requesting a religious exemption to the hair policy.
The district, the complaint says, did not grant that request and instead asked the boy “to ‘prove’ his Native American ancestry and beliefs by submitting documentation of tribal membership or affiliation.”
The boy’s family filed a complaint that he was being discriminated against in October, and requested the boy be allowed to return to classes while the grievance was pending.
“If he cuts his hair then he can go back to class,” a district administrator said, according to the complaint.
The complaint further claims that at one point in October an administrator even joked with her coworkers about the boy’s hair when Torres dropped him off at school, criticizing his hair.
“Other school administrators laughed at Mrs. Salinas’s joke, but (the boy) and his mother heard it too and found it shocking and hurtful,” it read.
The boy’s grievance was later denied. The boy was barred from attending a Halloween parade and remained suspended through October, the complaint said. It claims he’s falling behind academically.
The ACLU began working with the boy’s parents and contacted the district in early November, and worked with his parents on their complaint.
That complaint says the boy is being discriminated against based on his gender and his Native American heritage. It calls for an investigation of the district’s dress and grooming code.
Sharyland is not the first Texas district to come into the ACLU’s crosshairs because of its grooming policies.
The organization filed a lawsuit against Magnolia ISD last month because of its policies on long hair.
Sharyland ISD responded to a request for comment with a statement Friday.
“Sharyland ISD believes in treating all of its students with dignity and respect. With this being said, we also have policies and procedures in place following our Student-Parent Handbook. Given that this situation involves a student and due to FERPA regulations, additional details cannot be disclosed at this time. Sharyland ISD remains committed to the safety and emotional well-being of our students and staff.”
