8-Year-Old Native American Boy Forced to Cut His Hair by School, ACLU Says

The boy's mother was allegedly told that there were "no exemptions for the hair policy," according to the legal advocacy group

An 8-year-old Native American boy was allegedly forced to cut his hair or be sent home in order to comply with his elementary school’s hair policy, according to the Kansas American Civil Liberties Union.

In a letter sent last week to the Girard Unified School District and the R.V. Haderlein Elementary School, the Kansas ACLU called the policy "discriminatory" and urged the school to repeal its hair policy.

The organization said in its Nov. 17 letter that it requests the school “immediately grant [the unidentified student] an accommodation allowing him to wear his hair below his shoulders in accordance with his cultural and religious traditions.”

According to the letter, the legal advocacy group said the child is a member of the Wyandotte Nation, a federally recognized Native American tribe based in Oklahoma.

Related: Mich. Dad Files $1M Lawsuit Against School After Employee Cut 7-Year-Old Biracial Daughter's Hair

"For spiritual and cultural reasons, many Wyandotte men cut their hair only when mourning the loss of a loved one," the group said. "After seeing other male members wear their hair long last summer at the Nation's annual Gathering of the Little Tutles,' [the boy] was inspired to adopt the same religious and cultural practice."

According to the letter, the 8-year-old was told by school officials in August that he needed to cut his hair to comply with the "Boy's Hair Length" in the student dress code — a policy that does not apply to girls at the school — requiring boys' hair "not to touch the collar of a crew neck t-shirt, cover the eyebrows, or extend below the earlobes," among other obligations.

The boy's mother, who has also not been identified, came to the school in September and "requested an exemption" because of her son's "Native American heritage and spiritual beliefs," the letter shared. She then offered to show his tribal documentation, but was allegedly told that there were "no exemptions for the hair policy."

In a email sent to the mom on Sept. 22, the assistant principal said a teacher "asked that his hair be cut by Monday or he will be sent home."

Related: Citing Hair Length Policy, School Asks Teen to Cut Dreadlocks; His Parents Push Back

The Kansas ACLU had no further comment when contacted by PEOPLE. Girard USD Superintendent Todd Ferguson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

According to the legal group, based on that email, the mom believed her son "would be sent home from school every day until he complied and that, if she refused to cut his hair, [he] would ultimately be suspended."

Fearing the penalty and after several failed attempts to reach Ferguson, the mom allegedly cut her 8-year-old's hair that September weekend. The decision has caused the boy to be "distressed," per the Kansas ACLU.

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The superintendent told CNN in an email that the school district will now review the policy.

“Nothing matters more to the USD 248 district and staff than creating a safe, respectful and caring school for every student. I am unable to comment on individual students, families or employees, due to confidentiality laws,” Ferguson said. “I can share that the USD 248 Board of Education is planning to review and consider updates to the dress code policy when they meet on December 14th.”

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Meanwhile, the ACLU said the policy violates the Kansas Preservation of Religious Freedom Act, the U.S. Constitution, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"Requiring him to cut his hair to attend school imposes a substantial burden on his faith practice because, in and of itself, it violates his religious beliefs, and because it also prevents him from wearing his hair long outside of school, including for religious rituals and events," the letter said, adding that it also promotes “rigid views of gender norms and roles" by imposing the requirement only on boys.

The allegation follows a similar controversy in Texas that resulted in a Black high school student being removed from his school and sent to a disciplinary alternative education program over his hairstyle.

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