Texas Mother Seeks Policy Change After School Bans Boy Over Long Hair

The mother of a four-year-old boy from Houston, Texas, has said she would fight back after her son was barred from school over long hair.

Jessica Oates of Mont Belvieu told ABC affiliate KTRK that her son Jabez was sent back home on Friday. Oates was told by the administrators at Barb Hill’s kindergarten center that Jabez would not be allowed in school unless his hair was chopped off.

The Barbers Hill School District lays down a strict dress code for its students that also include instructions about hair length for boys. Oates said she had learned about the school’s hair policy during registration but she was told that she would be required to present the school officials with a letter citing specific religious or cultural exceptions in order for her son to be allowed an exemption of the rule.

On Monday, Oates decided to put her son's hair into a bun but that also did not pass the dress code laid down by the school district. Before she could write a letter to the school district, her son was asked not to return without getting a haircut.

While talking to media, the Texas mother insisted the length of her son's hair would not affect his ability to learn. "I don't believe that short hair should be required to get an education," Oates said.

Registering her protest, Oates told Houston Chronicle she would not cut her son’s hair despite him being barred from the school. "It's not an option," Oates told the Chronicle. "It's part of my child."

"I feel my son is owed the same education that all other children in this school district have."

According to the district's dress code, hair for boys Pre-K through fifth grade "will not extend below the eyebrows, below the ear lobes, or below the top of a t-shirt collar." The dress code continues to say, "Ponytails or tails are not acceptable on male students." However, none of these rules apply to female students.

"Students who come to school in violation of the dress and grooming code will have the opportunity to correct the violation," the district's dress code also states, "if appropriate, to prevent loss of class time. However, consequences for dress code violations will be enforced."

After the incident, the school district released a statement to KTRK on Monday saying: "Our local elected Board has established policy based on community expectations, and Barbers Hill administration will continue to implement the said policy."

The four-year-old's mother now plans to address the Barber's Hill Independent School District board on Sept. 1 in order to plead her case on behalf of her son, the Houston Chronicle reported.

She also took to Facebook to garner support. "When I signed the handbook I was informed that I could bring a letter stating that it could remain long for cultural and religious reasons. I apologize I didn't realize the district was going to recant it's statement and kick my child out," Jessica Oates wrote on her Facebook account Monday morning.