Posted on 10/11/2007 6:35:06 AM PDT by absolootezer0
A Detroit charter schools says one student's hairdo is definitely a don't and tells him to lose the Afro puff or don't come back. But the mother of Claudius Benson II says her son's school went too far, and she's suing.
Benson, 14, hasn't cut his hair in 10 years. Officials at his school, Old Redford Academy, say the ninth-grader was suspended because his hair is too long. The dress code requires "close-cropped" hair.
So why is his mom suing?
Alecha Benson says she follows the Old Testament passages that she interprets as prohibiting the cutting of her son's hair, and haircuts are against their religion. She is working with the ACLU to sue the school.
"We don't feel that we have to change our belief systems for my son to get an education," she said at an ACLU news conference Wednesday. "We have a right to chose to continue in the school that I enrolled him in. ... He's anxious to go back to school."
The school says it wants to confirm whether or not Claudius has a religious reason for his hairdo. He's been out of school now for nearly a month.
kid is back in school and the ACLU is siding with him (pro-religion).
MI Ping
What would Officer “Link” Lincoln think about this?
If it is just an ordinary Afro, what is the problem? I recall they used to be in style.
dress code requires hair to be cut short, with no rolls, braids or twists.
probably trying to cut back on some of the ‘gangsta’ hair styles.
why would “hair” be in the dress code?
why not? this is a detroit school, trying to get the kids away from the ‘gangsta’ styles and get them ready for college and business. this is also a charter school, you have to apply to get into it. students and parent should be aware of all rules before going in.
dress code link:
http://www.oldredford.com/ORA/ora%20dress%20code%201.htm
That's pretty standard, from what I recall.
"Dress code" as a term can cover one's entire appearance, from the clothes themselves to grooming.
"So what' s the big deal about my afro?"
Make notice this is a charter school and may not fall under the auspices of public schools. If so, the mom and the ACLU have no chance.
Interesting nonetheless.
The piper will always call the tune and Federal money is never free.
Back in the day, our public school dress code defined the length of sideburns on the guys as well as stating that their hair couldn’t touch the collar in the back. Of course, at the time, they were also required to wear shirts with collars.....
If you would like to be added or dropped from the Michigan ping list, please freepmail me.
If the student were to tame the hair, I don't see why it should be a problem--but the student and his family should have to prove their strength of faith, since that is the basis of their suit.
If they can't do that...kid, cut yer hair!
“Alecha Benson says she follows the Old Testament passages that she interprets as prohibiting the cutting of her son’s hair, and haircuts are against their religion.”
I have to wonder if they follow all of the tenants of the Old Testament.....
I could see her complaint if this was a public school but it’s not. It’s a charter, they can set their own rules and she should have researched them enough to find out if their rules and her rules were in sync.
There were indeed a lot of tenants in the Old Testament. During the Captivity in Egypt, there were a couple of million tenants in Goshen alone...
[wink]
“Alecha Benson says she follows the Old Testament passages that she interprets as prohibiting the cutting of her son’s hair, and haircuts are against their religion. She is working with the ACLU to sue the school.”
I think the actual text forbids rounding the corners of thy beard, or shaving thy forelocks. IOW, this mom is full of it.
Perhaps she could get away with this if she had named him Samson, rather than Claudius.
fro ping
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