Silly me. I used to think America had freedom of religion. But I guess not.
The school system in Needville, Texas, has managed to meld together 1953 and 2008 while excluding all the years in between. They're so old-fashioned that they think male students having long hair is taboo, but they enforce this rule with the "zero tolerance" zeal of the current decade.
Now a 5-year-old boy who is about to enter kindergarten is under fire from the school system because he has long hair - which strictly violates Needville schools' authoritarian dress code. The boy's family says that his long hair represents his religion and his Apache heritage.
That the schools would have a rule against long hair is bad enough. But that they're not willing to make a religious exemption seems even worse.
The snooperintendent said of the family, "What is their religious belief that defies cutting hair and following our policies?" So the school system is trying to dictate someone's religious beliefs for them?
Texas law says government agencies (including public schools) can't have policies that violate a person's religious practices unless the agency would face an undue hardship without such a policy. I certainly don't think it's an undue hardship for the school to make an exemption in this case.
On Wednesday, the Needville school board voted unanimously to exclude the kindergartner unless he cuts his hair.
The school district is really treading on shaky ground here. I can't help but unfavorably compare the school system's stance to restrictive, discriminatory policies of a century ago.
During a sad chapter in America's history, Native American children were forcibly taken from their communities and required to attend schools where they were beaten, uniformed, and barred from speaking their own language. From this story, it sounds as if America's schools are trending back to these shameful methods of old.
(Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/5888151.html;
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/moms/5892068.html)
Friday, July 18, 2008
School district threatens to exclude kindergartner over long hair
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As someone with Native American blood I find this especially offensive. What the hell is this school thinking? Apparently it's okay for schools to force Christian views on their children, but this kid can't have long hair when it's part of his religion and heritage? What next, are they going to force black people to bleach their skin?
ReplyDeleteIf I where this boys parent's, I'd tell the school to shove it up their ass and enroll him in a different school. Or possibly even home school him.
No, scratch that, I'd take them to court over trying to keep a child out of school and for breaking first amendment rights. In no way does that boys long hair effect how that school runs their business, nor the boys ability to learn.
If it's one thing the boy is learning now it's that the world will never accept him just for expressing his heritage. Or for having a healthy full head of hair.