Michigan girl, 8, stopped from standing for school picture as she had red-colored braids in her hair
An 8-year-old third-grader in Michigan was reportedly told that she could not stand in for her school picture because she had red color in her hair, according to the girl's family. The girl, identified as Marian Scott, appeared in school for picture day with red braids tied into a bun. However, school officials told the girl that her hair color went against the picture-day policy and she was sent back to class.
Marian's father, Doug Scott, while talking about the incident to WILX, said: "Marian didn’t leave out the house, go down the street, and go get this done on her own. She’s 8-years-old. We did this ourselves in our home and there's no way I felt like this would happen."
Marian's school, the Paragon Charter Academy in Jackson, Michigan, reportedly has a strict dress code in its student handbook, which also mentions that the students' hair color must be in "natural tones" to get their pictures taken. The institution also states that the students' hairstyles must be "conservative" and "extreme hairstyles" are not permitted on campus.
Reports state that the school had sent a recorded message on the Sunday before the pictures were taken, detailing the dress code required for the occasion. The girl's father, however, did not see the message, and said that if he had seen it, he would have changed his daughter's hair. Scott, however, added that it was incomprehensible for him that his daughter was permitted back into the class but she could not be in the picture.
"If she's not a disruption to the class, then why is she a disruption to the picture?" Scott asked.
The school's principal, Ben Kriesch, told the outlet, that students of the institution were given a week to "correct" their hairstyle violations, and that is why the 8-year-old was allowed to stay in class.
