Cross-posted on Street Prophets.
From the ACLU online newsroom, dated October 2:
HOUSTON – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas today filed a lawsuit against the Needville Independent School District (NISD) for punishing a five-year-old American Indian kindergarten student for practicing and expressing his family's religious beliefs and heritage by wearing his hair long in violation of school rules.
School officials have forced Adriel Arocha into isolated in-school suspension because he and his family refuse to abide by a district mandate that he stuff his long hair, part of his American Indian religious and cultural heritage, down the back of his shirt while at school – a requirement that would cause Adriel shame, embarrassment and physical discomfort.
A five-year-old boy in in-school suspension? Isn't kindergarten supposed to acclimate a child to school? Isn't it a learning experience not just for academic, but also for social learning?
ARE THEY NUTS?
I can't seem to get past the mental picture of a five-year-old kept isolated from other children in school.
"Adriel Arocha's parents have raised him to practice and be proud of his religion and culture as an American Indian, which includes wearing his uncut hair in two long braids," said Lisa Graybill, Legal Director for the ACLU of Texas. "NISD recognized that Adriel's religious beliefs exempt him from its dress code requirement that boys have short hair, but the alternate policy they adopted for him is still unlawful."
A five-year-old's religious beliefs are what he is being raised to believe. Adriel's father is Native American, and his parents have agreed to raise him to this culture and religion. This is a grown-up issue, with a five-year-old child caught in the middle. One can only wonder what Adriel makes of all this, and what exactly he is learning. Is anyone considering the psychological impact of social isolation on a child?
Nearly eight months after Adriel's parents first requested an exemption from the district's dress code, and only after the family appealed the Needville School Board's initial denial, the district finally conceded less than a week before school started that Adriel's long hair is part of his religious heritage and that he cannot be forced to cut it.
But instead of simply exempting him from that part of the dress code, NISD officials are requiring that Adriel keep his thick, foot-long hair "tightly woven" into a single braid and stuffed down the back of his shirt at all times, and to re-prove his religious sincerity to NISD officials every school year.
I read this and feel I have dropped into an alternate universe. Requiring a child to hide such an important part of his identity as his hair is shaming, and teaching the exact wrong lesson to all the children affected. Hair is an important part of identity, as any high school student can tell you. But we are not talking about adolescent rebellion here. We are talking about cultural identity, which for Adriel is also family identity. Pride in who he is, pride in being part of his family and his culture. And I'm trying to imagine a six or seven year old proving his religious sincerity.
This is a first amendment case, I am sure, but it is also a case of child abuse by Adriel's school district. Are there any Houston Kossaks out there who can find out more about what is going on?
Here is a link to the ACLU article:
http://www.aclu.org/...