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Bold Hair Hues Lead to Suspension for 6th-Grader
Filed under: In The News, Tween Culture
Turns out parents best not encourage their kid to express herself with hair color -- or at least they need to read the school handbook before heading to the salon with their tween or teen.
When Stephanie Plato showed up to school with the cool new hair color her mom got her as a present for her 12th birthday, it cost her two days of school, according to ABC affiliate KTRK.com.
The Texas sixth-grader's cool new "do" of red and blonde highlights streaked through her naturally light brown hair earned her an in-school suspension.
"I was shocked," Stephanie's mother Jessica Leyer tells KTRK. "They said she had to go to ISS (in-school suspension) or she had to go home, so I took her home because I didn't want her to sit in ISS for her hair color."
Officials at Cobb Elementary in the Channelview, Texas school district say the red highlights violated the student code of conduct. But Stephanie's mom says she never intended to violate the rules.
"I think it is bright, and it is brighter than we intended," Leyer tells KTRK. "But, I don't think it is a distraction or that kids won't be able to sit and concentrate in class because of her hair."
Meanwhile, sixth-grader Plato says the red and blonde streaks were a big hit with her classmates.
"They said they liked it and it was cute," the student tells KTRK. She adds that she wanted the hair streaks for her birthday "because they're cool."
But cute came with a cost. Plato was not allowed back into school until her hair was once again streakless. She had to color it a dark brown to hide the red and blonde, says her mom.
This is not the first time hair coloring caused a stir at school.
Last August, four San Antonio high school students, including honor student Damaris Duarte, received in-school suspensions for hair color, according to WOAI.com.
"There's a girl in my first period who has pink hair and I don't think it's fair I have to change it when I've had it the same way for four years and she has bright pink hair and she gets to keep it," Damaris tells WOIA.
As for Stephanie Plato and her mom Jessica Leyer, they have been schooled when it comes to hair styles. "Read the handbook," Leyer tellsKTRK.
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ReaderComments (Page 6 of 14)
2-17-2011 @ 3:44PM
Thursday said...Joe,
I think they are referring to that awful bright red or magenta hair color. No one is born with a color like that.
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2-17-2011 @ 3:45PM
XxRosexOfxSharyn said...It was like this everyday when I was in middle school and high school (in Texas). They spent so much time taking people out of class for wearing and kind of hair color, middle school it was shirt tucked in, only certain "shades" of the school colors, only white shoelaces, bunch of other stuff...high school it only got worse. You got taken out of class if you wore black pants, many other things. All that this accomplishes is that it makes it the kids more hostile every time towards the people that enforce these out of control rules. We had to wear polo shirts with only certain kinds of pants, and these were both public schools I went to. This girl's hair color is not hurting anyone, they claim distraction, guess what is more of a distraction-taking 5 people out of class before the class has even gotten started because they wore the wrong color jacket! They of course refuse to admit that them doing that is what actually causes a disruption. Distractions that actually happened: drugs, gossip, flirting, a gun incident once, tons of bomb threats one year, people skipping class to go screw around, teachers that just let all of these things happen cause they wanted to be the "cool" teacher.
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2-17-2011 @ 3:46PM
Marilyn DeBrase said...Alex-- you think this is fine and it's sophisticated -- this is an 11-12 year old kid -- and this, people, is part of what is wrong with the youth today.
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2-17-2011 @ 3:51PM
Linda said...Although I agree that some clothing is not appropriate for school, I think when it's hair color/makeup, graphics on t shirts(unless obscene), they should butt out. 45 years ago a girl in my Senior class who had been bleaching her hair for ever, was told she couldnt do it anymore. Luckily her parents told the school to butt out. I cant beleive they are still whining over this issue. Arent their more important issues to fight about??
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2-17-2011 @ 4:08PM
TRIPLEDAWG3 said...IF YOU KNEW THE CLASS OF PEOPLE IN THE HIGHLANDS SCHOOL DISTRICT, NOTHING THEY DO SHOULD/WOULD SUPRISE YOU
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2-17-2011 @ 3:55PM
John S said...Big brother is getting more and more like the guestappo. There is a lot more distraction in clothing, than in hair, these days.
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2-17-2011 @ 3:56PM
jimBoChili said...so sick of hearing about these kids here in america and all their stupid bad behavior and getting rewarded for it - bunch of spoiled self centered rotten stankin' BRATZ !!
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2-17-2011 @ 3:57PM
Tedq said...Jeesss, why can't parents let their kids grow up before pushing them into adulthood, let them have a childhood... I don't think the kid should have been suspended, but then I don't think she she have had her hair done like that either when sh'es still a kid....
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2-17-2011 @ 3:58PM
Ed said...It's official. Our schools are run by idiots.
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2-17-2011 @ 4:00PM
Ro said...This story made me giggle. Im a bit of an "older lady" now. But I remember many years ago - in the 3rd grade - we were "warned" by our teacher that bringing "a ballpoint pen" into class would warrant a zero for the day - and a visit from a parent to come to the classroom to retrive it after she would take it from us. In those days we used an inkwell built into our little desks, filled with the vilest black ink that stained all our clothes and smeared all over our fingers. In short, these schools need to get into the 21st century; their thinking is absolutely archaic. LOL I'm still giggling.
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2-17-2011 @ 4:01PM
Sue said...Letting a 6th grader do that to her hair is tacky and inappropriate for her age but nothing to suspend a kid over. My 16 year old came home with a blue streak in her hair once. I didn't make a big deal about it and she never did it again.
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2-17-2011 @ 4:03PM
Melissa said...I do not see anything wrong with a 12 year old coloring her hair. If that is what she wanted then so be it. Everyone does stupid things in life and this school is worried about hair color. Give me a fricken break will you. Get over it and move on. Also, if there is a student with pink hair and this girl has her hair 2 different colors and she needed to dye it back normal then I think that the girl with pink hair needs to do the same. Only fare for the whole situation. Get over it!
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2-17-2011 @ 4:02PM
John S said...Jeremy, what you fail to understand is Texas has independent school districts, and each has their own set of rules. The only control from the state is the academics. I'd like nothing better than to see a universal standard, on a national level, for all schools. I lived in a state where the schools were controlled at the state level and exams came from the regents. If you didn't pass the regents exam, you stayed behind, and repeated the grade. We should do it that way.
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2-17-2011 @ 4:06PM
TexansAreLosers said...OMG Texas the end of the world is upon us thanks to this one girls hair coloring. My god where will the insanity end? Better call up the national guard and have the kids searched for other anti family value stuff like laptops and cell phones. My god are we all of a sudden back in the 60's when long hair was the work of satan and rock was going to bring on doomsday.
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2-17-2011 @ 4:10PM
Ladyjoker7413123 said...My school would not allow unnatural hair colors, but red and blond streaks were perfectly fine. Until recently, we were not allowed to wear flip-flops, and boys still can't grow facial hair.
When i was in elementary school a teacher grabbed my and my sisters bangs and pinned them up because she said that they were too long. One of my friends told her mom who told my mom. The next day my teacher and another teacher pull me and my sister out into the hallway and accused us of trying to get her fired and that she didn't do anything wrong, making us promise not to get her in trouble.
I think that THOSE are the kind of problems that need to be addressed, not some light hair-coloring that almost looks natural.
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2-17-2011 @ 4:10PM
Professor_ said...I agree with most of you BUT I also agree that a child of 12 years of age shouldn't be dying her hair at her age,regardless of color. The school in question SHOULD BE CONCENTRATING on more important issues such as TAKS scores/daily curriculum/drugs/weapons and so on. While I respect this child's "wants" THIS BY FAR ISN'T A "NEED"; the mother should encourage her child that there are far more important tasks at hand. Leave hair dying to an appropriate age.
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2-17-2011 @ 5:50PM
Alicia said...It was a birthday present! Read the article! What 12 year old wants a "need" as a birthday gift? It's just hair, it'll grow out. A little color never hurt anyone and she's a step away from being a teenager. Time to start letting her grow up. At 13, my mom was making deals with me to keep me from scurrying to Canada at 16 to get a tattoo. Of course, she'd hoped I would grow out of the tattoo idea and forget the deal, but still. This is far less permanent and less of a big deal. Instead, I proceeded to spend the next five years planning my first tattoo (a copy of my grandfather's bluebird) and several others I wanted afterwards and on my 18th birthday, she "gave" it to me as my birthday present. Now we trade tattoos as gifts (I "gave" my mom her second one as a Christmas gift and am buying my sixth as a 21st birthday gift to myself).
2-17-2011 @ 4:25PM
teresa said...look,. some people are going to say this girl was too young to dye her hair and that her parents shouldn't have allowed it but that's a matter of opinion and compared to all the other issues going on at schools I think this shouldn't have even been a problem to the school. many girls/women get different colors streaked into their hair, who's the authority to say if it's "too distracting" or not? I think the only question is how well this rule is spelled out in the school's handbook? schools, just like Obama, has their priorities so far out off track.
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2-17-2011 @ 4:26PM
quartrhoss said...Too bad we can't issue ISS for teachers who don't do their jobs and for principals who spend more time worrying about hair color that the fact that public schools suck...hmmm, maybe it is because schools are spending too much time being Hitler about minor crap??
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2-17-2011 @ 4:35PM
brandy said...ITS HAIR GET OVER IT when i was in jr high i was suspended over my hair i fought back and had the rules changed and mine was flamingo pink!! that was 17 years ago times have changed
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