Four-Year-Old in Hot Water Over Long Locks

by Amanda Younger (Subscribe to Amanda Younger's posts) Dec 21st 2009 12:57PM

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Taylor Pugh, 4, of Balch Springs, Texas, may love his long hair, but Mesquite ISD officials do not. Credit: Mona Reeder, Dallas Morning News / MCT

Four-year-old, Pre-K student Taylor Pugh found himself facing in-school suspension, isolated from his classmates and forced into private lessons after administrators felt that his long locks were in violation of the school district's strict dress code.

The student, affectionately known as "Tater Tot," sports tresses that go down his small neck and bangs that slightly cover his eyes. But instead of admiring Taylor's luscious mane, school administrators in the Mesquite Independent School District in Texas said that his do of choice is too long. For more than a month, Taylor has been forced to attend private lessons with a teacher's aide at Floyd Elementary School because he is not allowed to attend class with the other Pre-K students in his class.

Administrators said that Taylor is in violation of the district's dress code, which states: "For boys: 'Hair is to be out of the eyes, not extend below the bottom of the earlobes and cut so that it does not extend over the collar (dress shirt).'"

Initially, the school did not want almost any interaction between "Tater Tot" and the other students, wanting him to eat lunch in an outside classroom before attending his private lessons. But after Taylor's mother protested her son's isolation, the school permitted him to eat in the cafeteria, head to class for attendance and announcements, and then make his way to the library to begin his private lessons.

Taylor's parents, who refuse to cut their son's hair, say that the school has yet to give them a legitimate reason to lob off their son's locks.

"The school cannot give us an honest reason why we should force him to cut his hair. He loves his hair," Taylor's father, Delton Pugh Jr. told The Dallas Morning News. "I'll move out of this school district before I'll force him to cut his hair."

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Elizabeth 12-21-2009 @ 1:07PM

I find it interesting that this is occurring in a public school, when normally you hear about this thing happening in private schools. I'll bet the real reason they want his hair short is because they're afraid that if he has an accident--that is, his hair gets caught in something or he can't see because of his hair--that the school will be liable. Surely a compromise can be met--perhaps he can agree to wear his hair tied back at school so that it is not in his face or in danger of being caught in something.

Holly 12-23-2009 @ 12:30PM

Elizabeth, I like that you try to justify this incident with logic, it is usually my approach too. But how is a boy's long hair any more dangerous than a girl's long hair? It seems that braids would be more dangerous than anything, although I'm not sure how a child would get their hair caught in a paper shredder or something in a pre-k classroom... what exactly would be the danger?
And in a public school? I just want to know how they justify this rule.