Hair color causes Oak Ridge dispute

When Teresa McLane's daughter wanted to dye her hair purple a few weeks ago, the Oak Ridge mother pulled down two small sections of the 14-year-old's hair and said, "this is all you can do."

McLane says the next day, her daughter, Hailey Whipfler, was given an in-school suspension for the 1-inch streaks of color running through her blond hair.

"It was ridiculous," McLane said. "If I had a problem with her doing it, I wouldn't have let her do it."

An eighth-grader at Oak Ridge High School, Hailey said she and several friends dyed their hair together but were told by school officials that it was a distraction and against school policy.

Hailey, whose streaks are now red, said principal Aaron Horrell called her into his office Monday to warn her again about the unnatural color of her locks.

Horrell was not available for comment Tuesday, but Oak Ridge superintendent Dr. Gerald Landewee confirmed some students were issued a warning about their hair color a short time ago.

"There are some students who have chosen not to do anything about it," Landewee said.

Oak Ridge, like other schools in the area, has a dress code that bans anything that causes a distraction, although the dyeing of hair is not specifically mentioned in some policies.

According to Landewee, dyed hair falls under the "disruption to the educational process" guideline.

"There might be other students pointing or whispering. It draws attention away from classroom learning," Landewee said.

McLane and her daughter both claim the hair streaks are barely visible and have caused no distraction. They do not plan to remove the dye.

"You've got to let kids express themselves. As long as it doesn't get out of control, I don't see a problem with it," McLane said.

Her opinion has been backed up in court cases initiated by the American Civil Liberties Union over the past five years.

The Eastern Missouri chapter of the ACLU, based in St. Louis, follows the organization's national position, which claims schools can impose reasonable hair codes as long as they aren't discriminatory.

Matt LeMieux, director of the Eastern Missouri ACLU chapter, said disciplining students for coloring their hair could be considered a violation of First Amendment rights.

LeMieux said most schools' policies are similar to Oak Ridge's, claiming that unnatural hair color is a distraction. It's up to schools to prove the distraction occurred, according to LeMieux.

"They think it's disruptive because they don't like the way it looks," LeMieux said. "I can't understand how it could be disruptive."

Local school officials disagree. Junior high and high schools in Cape Girardeau and Jackson follow policies similar to Oak Ridge's, although whether a ban on dyed hair is included in a student handbook varies from school to school.

cclark@semissourian.com

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