A Louisiana teen has been suspended indefinitely from school for refusing to cυt his locks.
South Plaquemines High School sent the boy home because his locks grew past his collar, a viοlation of school policy.
When the teen returned to school with his hair pinned, he was sent home again and advised that he shouldn’t return to school until he’d cυt his hair.
Rastafarians aren’t allowed to cυt their hair as it is a viοlation their religious beliefs.
Now the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
as stepped in on behalf of the teen, saying in a letter that “the wearing of dreadlocks for (the student) is akin to the wearing of a religious icon by another student.”
The boy’s mother has already given the school a letter from 1st Church of Rastafar I explaining the significance of hair in their religion.
Still, the superintendent told the teen that the church’s letter was not good enough but wouldn’t tell the teen what kind of documentation would be required to lift the suspension.
“We would object if the school were to tell a Christian student they could not wear a cross or if it were to permit the wearing of religious icons of one faith and prohibited those of another faith,” wrote the ACLU. “In discriminating against (the student’s) religious beliefs, the school is expressing a preference for certain religions, which is unacceptable.”
The boy has missed 11 days of school over his hair.
“The actions of the school and Superintendent (Denis) Rousselle are the equivalent of an unlimited suspension,” the ACLU wrote.
According to the ACLU, not only are the boy’s constitutional rights being viοlated, but Louisiana’s Preservation of Religious Freedom Act as well.
“(The student) will be able to prove that his dreadlocks and hair length are a sincerely held religious belief of his Rastafari religion,” the ACLU said. “It is also a method of self-expression, because it communicates to others an important fact about (the student): that he is a Rastafari for whom traditional religious practices are important to him and his family. By refusing to allow him to attend school, the Board is violating (his) statutory and constitutional rights.”
Louisiana School Bans Rastafarian Teen Over Locks | Naturally Moi
South Plaquemines High School sent the boy home because his locks grew past his collar, a viοlation of school policy.
When the teen returned to school with his hair pinned, he was sent home again and advised that he shouldn’t return to school until he’d cυt his hair.
Rastafarians aren’t allowed to cυt their hair as it is a viοlation their religious beliefs.
Now the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
as stepped in on behalf of the teen, saying in a letter that “the wearing of dreadlocks for (the student) is akin to the wearing of a religious icon by another student.”
The boy’s mother has already given the school a letter from 1st Church of Rastafar I explaining the significance of hair in their religion.
Still, the superintendent told the teen that the church’s letter was not good enough but wouldn’t tell the teen what kind of documentation would be required to lift the suspension.
“We would object if the school were to tell a Christian student they could not wear a cross or if it were to permit the wearing of religious icons of one faith and prohibited those of another faith,” wrote the ACLU. “In discriminating against (the student’s) religious beliefs, the school is expressing a preference for certain religions, which is unacceptable.”
The boy has missed 11 days of school over his hair.
“The actions of the school and Superintendent (Denis) Rousselle are the equivalent of an unlimited suspension,” the ACLU wrote.
According to the ACLU, not only are the boy’s constitutional rights being viοlated, but Louisiana’s Preservation of Religious Freedom Act as well.
“(The student) will be able to prove that his dreadlocks and hair length are a sincerely held religious belief of his Rastafari religion,” the ACLU said. “It is also a method of self-expression, because it communicates to others an important fact about (the student): that he is a Rastafari for whom traditional religious practices are important to him and his family. By refusing to allow him to attend school, the Board is violating (his) statutory and constitutional rights.”
Louisiana School Bans Rastafarian Teen Over Locks | Naturally Moi
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