Superintendent says 4-year-old Texas boy must cut hair or wear dress: Grandma

Friday, September 13, 2019

TATUM, Texas -- A grandmother in an East Texas town says she's outraged after she claims the superintendent told her to either cut her 4-year-old grandson's hair or have him wear a dress.

"I was told that I needed to see the principal, so I went to the principal's office where she explained to me that my grandson's hair was too long," grandparent Randi Woodley said.

Woodley told KETK this all started in August when 4-year-old Michael arrived at school to meet his teacher but was told his hair needed to change.

"And the superintendent then gave me three options. He told me that I could either cut it, braid it and pin it up, or put my grandson in a dress and send him to school, and when prompted, my grandson must say he's a girl," Woodley explained.

She says Michael is being discriminated against and believes the real problem is the district's dress code.

It states the hair shouldn't "extend past the top of a t-shirt collar."

Now, Woodley and other parents are demanding the school board change its policies.

"We shouldn't even be talking about this at any age because hair has nothing to do with learning," Woodley said.

Woodley isn't alone in her complaint.

Another parent, Kambryn Cox, says her son Kellan was told his hair couldn't be in a ponytail.

"With my son's dreadlocks, sometimes they do fall in front of his face, so I felt it would be easier to put his hair up, but then that's a problem," Cox said.

Both Cox and Woodley say they plan to fight what they believe to be a gender and race issue.

When asked if the superintendent wanted to comment, he said, "Not yet."