Shoot... I let my kids dye their hair blue and purple.. but they're home schooled, so no one cares. :)

Wow. This is just sad. I understand that dress codes need to be enforced, but the father said he couldn't get the color out. This is ridiculous. I mean, was she suspended before the principal even talked to her father? Because I'm pretty sure he would have said that we tried to get the color out and it won't come out. I know that if I was a parent and the principal suspended my child for something like this without even telling me beforehand, I would LOSE my shit.

My hair was red, orange, green, blue, purple, cyan, chartreuse, black, deep auburn, blonde, and silver in high school, which started as just green in middle school. Not all at once, mind you, and I mostly settled on green by college, but I had it all. It was never against any of our dress codes, but let me tell you, if it had been and I had been suspended, the school would not have heard the last of it from me.

I turned some heads at first, but it became so natural and so "me" that when there would be a time I wasn't green, people would ask me what I had done to my hair, haha. It was never a distraction in class to the best of my knowledge, and no one made a big deal about it.

"Unnatural" hair colors are becoming more commonplace in the adult world. This isn't some controversial topic where there is the possibility of hair harming a child in some way, or sexualizing them, or damaging their ability to learn. This is hair. And color. To me, this case is just as stupid as that little boy sent home from school until he got a haircut. How is hair distracting? It sounds like rulemakers are a little old-fashioned and hold untrue stereotypes about people with hair that defies their standards of prim and proper 50s hairstyles.

the hair color rule is crazy. She shouldn't have been suspended

Sounds like the teacher is bored or something. /sigh

Call me crazy... but if you don't like a school's dress code, then send your kid to another school. She could have easily dyed her hair back to a "natural" color, and encouraging your child to break any rule, no matter how trivial, sets a bad example. It sounds to me like school officials were already bending the rules by letting her back in after just "trying" to get rid of the blue hair. This punishment doesn't seem out of line to me at all. Why even have a dress code if you're not allowed to enforce it?

I'm laughing because it's a blue streak from Kool Aid....

At my son's middle school the girls wear skirts so short that their panties show if they bend over and low cut collared shirts that showcase their cleavage. 

The is the same middle school that put my son in ATS (Alternative to suspension) because he accidentally donned one of his dad's polo shirts and wore it to school.  That polo shirt had an embroidered monogram of the emblem of the car dealership my ex husband works at.  The emblem isn't offensive and is the same color as the polo shirt.  It's about 2" square in size.  Emblems can be no larger than 1" square. 

When the AP called ME (not my ex) she primly informed me that my son would be suspended for transgression of the dress code.  I asked her where they held ATS.  She told me that they held it in the cafeteria.  I coldly told her that it must look a convention for prostitutes there with all the girls breaking dress code, "Next time, grow some stones and suspend him for real.  While your at it, enforce the dress code with some of those Jezebels in training and stop worrying that a car dealership emblem is gang related."  Then I hung up on her and called my ex. 

I went so far as to schedule a conference with the AP, my son's teacher, the principal and the guidance counselor.  The ex and I showed up early.  The school police officer came out and told me that the meeting had been cancelled.  We offered to reschedule.  Not necessary.  Really.  I told the school police officer that I wasn't impressed that they were acting so cowardly and then sent him out to do the dirty work. 

My sons will be going to different schools in the fall.  I understand they enforce the dress codes across the board at the new schools.  The principals at both schools have teenaged daughters.  That seems to make a difference.

@beesuze@xanga - That's just awful. I used to volunteer peer services at middle schools for girls who had early development issues sexually and it's just so sad to see things like that happening. I know it won't ever stop, I'm on my way to finishing my own degree to work in high schools but I feel like if a school is consistent (which may never happen, my own school had gun and bully issues) then children will be less troubled and inclined to break conduct. It has to start from the home, it's amazing to read about a parent (you!) who is proactive in what happens in the school. 

  That is stupid. This poor girl was doing nothing wrong, and had a little fun with friends. She even had permission from her FATHER?? Fuck that school. Sometimes they go way too far with trying to protect the "integrity" of education. A little kid can't be silly with a product that will come off anyways?? Poor thing :-/

♥L
-SM

Just the simple fact these dumb rules even exist in schools really irritates me. It's all about power. When the hell do kids EVER get distracted by things like hair color or facial piercings, enough that it keeps them from getting an education?! 

I have to say..I agree with anyone saying that "if you don't like the dress codes, send your child to a different school." etc.  I mean, I understand that mistakenly thinking Kool-Aid would be an easy wash-out, therefore you allowed your child to do it..but after realizing it isn't..either dye her back to her natural hair color or suffer the consequences. I hate to say it..but if the dress codes call for no "un-natural hair colors" & the rule is broken..the school has a right to punish the student however they see fit.

 Understandably, a lot of students break the dress code, they wear short skirts, thin tank tops, bad tshirts, baggy pants etc. & yeah, a lot of them go unpunished. Sure, it's unfair..it's unfair that they can go unpunished & she ends up suspended. You're probably right in the fact they were trying to make an example out of her. Perhaps, in doing so the school is trying to crack down even harder on the kids who repeatedly break the dress code. It's too bad that she, & not they got the ax..but when all is said & done.

 Also, when a student wears an inappropriate dress, it's a much easier fix. Turn the tshirt inside out, wear P.E shorts in lieu of baggy pants etc. Hair color is a whole different ballpark. What are they going to do? Shave her head? Dye it back to a natural color on school grounds? NO. They have to send the student home & attempt to get the parents to understand that mistake or not, a student isn't to have un-natural hair - if they let it slide that opens the door to all students AND parents complaining that "Suzy was sent home or made to change because her skirt was "too short" yet you allowed another girl to have blue streaks in her hair, when the rules clearly state it's not allowed." Allowing the student back after an unsuccessful attempt at getting the blue out isn't undermining it, since they originally tried to get her to stay out until it was taken care of; & as you pointed out

 So the schools decided to let her back in, after making their point to her & all students. Again, rules are there for a reason..mistakes are made sure, but in the end every student should be held accountable in some form if they are caught breaking the school dress code.

I really don't see a problem with the "unofficial suspension." What is the point of a rule if we don't enforce it? It's the family's responsibility to read the handbook at the beginning of school -- if they didn't, it's their own fault for dying the hair blue and sending her to school. Schools make those type of rules for a reason, and letting her be in school despite her obvious lack of regard for the rules sends a clear message to kids that the school doesn't believe its own message. I mean, I understand that the entire situation was innocent and the kid was just having fun with her friends. But what other choice did the school have? It's a matter of principle, really.