NA Kindergartener Can Keep Long Hair
Friday January 23, 2009
Remember this little cutie pie, whose elementary school wanted him to cut his hair, but his parents argued that long hair was part of their spiritual practice? Well, a judge agrees that the school has no right to force the child to cut his hair. The ruling reads, in part, "the Needville Independent School District’s policy violated state law and the U.S. Constitution by punishing the American Indian kindergartner for religious beliefs that require him to wear his hair long."
Little Adriel Arocha was removed from the classroom this fall and taught in a one-on-one setting because he didn't comply with a dress code exemption the school board granted him in August. He was told to wear his long hair in a single braid and tuck it under his shirt when he attended school. Instead, he wore it in two braids outside his shirt.
The school district's policy prohibits long hair on boys, so Arocha's parents applied for a religious exemption. The boy's father, Kenney Arocha, hasn't cut his own hair in 11 years, and Adriel's hair is now 13 inches long. Kenney says "he considers his hair sacred — not to be cut except during major life events, such as the death of a loved one."
Little Adriel Arocha was removed from the classroom this fall and taught in a one-on-one setting because he didn't comply with a dress code exemption the school board granted him in August. He was told to wear his long hair in a single braid and tuck it under his shirt when he attended school. Instead, he wore it in two braids outside his shirt.
The school district's policy prohibits long hair on boys, so Arocha's parents applied for a religious exemption. The boy's father, Kenney Arocha, hasn't cut his own hair in 11 years, and Adriel's hair is now 13 inches long. Kenney says "he considers his hair sacred — not to be cut except during major life events, such as the death of a loved one."
Comments
Thank the Lord and Lady that he got his rights handed to him fairly. I knew this case was over before it started because it was violating the first amendment because of his religion. For the school to even challange such an issue is a waste of time, because it would be like asking a Muslim to take off their head dress…. it would be wrong and a violation of the first constitutional right to freedom of religion. Kudos to the small boy and his family and may they stand strong in their faith!
Tuck it inside his shirt? Well it won’t distract his classmates, but it sure would distract him!
Sounds like that school could use an enema
Oh TX, when will you grow up?
If school officials would pay as much attention to what went INTO a child’s head as they do what is on a child’s head, we would be one of the most intellectual and well-adjusted countries in the world.
Well, it IS in Texas after all. What century is this, anyway? I thought they did away with that antiquated long hair on boys thing back in 1969, when I was a senior in high school. Ah the American south, always s few decades behind the rest of the country.
Um,I beg to differ about the long hair being a Southern thing.I’ve lived in Seattle and Salt Lake City,Utah,where long hair was on several of my friends,and they had never set foot in the South.I now live in the South,and long hair is really on the biker’s kids,or the hippy kids,hardly ever on the church kids.So,to say that long hair is a Southern thing,is an ignorant assumption.
The boy’s rights wetre clearly violatet,and I can vouch,tht having to have hair on your back,is rather itchy.No child should be forced to bear that.The school board was not only showing their ignorance, but their intolerance,as well.
I believe the Christian’s bible – Leviticus – has commandments against cutting the hair, does it not?
Falwell’s Christian college has a dress code, including hair length not to exceed the collar. I wonder if they can discriminate if they take government money?
I would be irate if a public school tried to tell me how my son must wear his hair.
It wasn’t until the 1980’s that some of the Native American tribes allowed anything to be written about their tribal beliefs or their language. Some languages are still not written down. It is true that some of their culture will be lost but they have a way of spreading their stories and language – by word of mouth. This custom will also be lost once the stories and language are written down.
So if the stories and languages are not written down, then the tribes will have a difficult time proving their heritage. But I do know for a fact, that the Navajo Indians of New Mexico hold that they wear their hair long until such time they decide to cut it.
The English white man has forced so much on the Native American tribes, when do we stop and allow them their rights as humans. I say Now is the time.
I have long grey-white hair, and I wear it for my own religious purpose, and I most likely would do what I must to defend my right to wear long hair.
The boy should be allowed to wear his hair as he sees fit, according to the tribe’s beliefs.
So Mote It Be!