Children & the Law Blog

A boy, was ordered by a rural school district (Needville ISD) located outside of Houston to cut his waist length hair due to its violation of the school district’s dress code. However, as reported by the Houston Chronicle, Michelle Betenbaugh, the boy’s mother, says that cutting his hair would conflict with his Native American religious beliefs and culture. The Chronicle reported yesterday that the family appealed to the Needville school board, but the board unanimously ruled against them. In response, lawyers for the family are debating whether to take the issue to court.

A court case would be quite interesting if it visits the two broader issue potentially at stake: the appropriate place of religious expression of students in public schools and the balance between students’ individual rights and the need for schools to ensure an ordered environment for education. Two previous Supreme Court cases come to mind that somewhat address both of these issues respectively: West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette and Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District.

West Virginia (1943) is one of the so-called “Jehovah’s Witnesses Cases” from the 1930s and 1940s that helped to define more clearly which rights the First Amendment protects. This case was brought by Jehovah’s Witnesses who objected to the compulsory pledge of allegiance recitation in public schools. The Supreme Court agreed with the plaintiffs, stating that forcing public school students to recite the pledge of allegiance violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

Probably more on point, Tinker (1969) dealt with public school students who were suspended for wearing black armbands with the peace sign on them to school in protest of the ongoing Vietnam War. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students, stating that the school could not punish the students for wearing the armbands without evidence that this action was required to ensure order in the school.

Does this particular rule of restricting the length of boys’ hair pass the “Tinker Test?” That will (potentially) be for the courts to decide.

The most recent Huston Chronicle article:

The school board of this rural Fort Bend County school district denied a request to let a 5-year-old boy with long hair attend kindergarten this fall.

The parents of Adriel Arocha want the boy to wear his hair long for religious reasons, but his shoulder-length locks are in conflict with the district’s hair code.

The board voted unanimously to uphold an earlier decision made by district administrators who said the child must cut his hair if he wants to attend school in Needville.

The parents of the child, Michelle Betenbaugh and Kenney Arocha, decided to appeal that ruling to the board, which heard the case Wednesday night.

Betenbaugh told the school board that Native American religions have no books or Bibles to consult but said the practice of boys and men not cutting their hair is well-known.

Kenney Arocha said he was proud of his heritage and asking him to cut his son’s hair would be like asking him to give up his constitutional rights.

“Which rights would you take next?” he said.

But Needville Superintendent Curtis Rhodes said the child is not actually a student in the district, and it was premature to present the issue to the school board Wednesday night.

Nevertheless, Rhodes urged the board to deny the parents’ appeal of the administration’s earlier decision.

The family owns land in Needville and is in the process of moving to the city. They plan to register the child at the elementary school.

The attorney for the boy and his parents, Hal Hale, said he will discuss the matter with his clients before deciding what legal action to take. Hale said he might seek a temporary injunction asking a judge to force the district to let the child attend school. Or, Hale said, legal action might be delayed until the child actually enrolls in the district and tries to attend class with long hair.

Needville has strict rules about long hair on boys.

Betenbaugh is in the process of moving from Meadows Place to Needville and told school officials in May she planned to register her son for kindergarten and that he had long hair.

According to legal experts, courts have repeatedly backed educators in numerous lawsuits brought by students and parents regarding dress codes. But the same courts have granted students and parents some rights when it comes to hairstyles tied to religion.

Legal rulings regarding challenges to hair codes on religious grounds give school districts the ability to grant exceptions.

Betenbaugh said she has consulted lawyers about the issue and plans to take the matter to court.