#HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK PHOTOS ALTERED CODE#

The punishment for dress code violations remains the same: in-school suspension. But the district kept what Miller described as its harsh enforcement, which drove her to unenroll Tristan.

It no longer specifies hair lengths based on gender. Certain hairstyles, such as shaved designs in hair, are still not allowed. The new policy says hair must be kept clean, well groomed, and worn out of the eyes, and be a natural hair color. When the district changed its policy, it removed the gendered language. New dress code still allows in-school suspensions for violations Others were removed from campus and moved to a disciplinary alternative education program, typically reserved for students who have violated state or federal law or committed serious violations of school policies. Some Magnolia ISD students sent to in-school suspension spent up to a month there, cut off from extracurriculars and regular classes, according to the lawsuit. After Miller’s lawyer sent a cease and desist letter to Magnolia ISD and the ACLU sent a letter of support, Tristan was allowed back into their regular classroom. While in that classroom, Miller says a teacher questioned why Tristan wouldn’t just cut their hair, which the mother considered bullying. Meanwhile, Tristan continued to attend in-school suspension in a separate classroom for 10 days.

The parents then started a Facebook group, and when the ACLU got back in touch with Miller, began collaborating on what eventually became a lawsuit against Magnolia ISD on behalf of seven students, between the ages of 7 and 17, who had been allegedly discriminated against based on the same policy prohibiting boys, but not girls, from wearing long hair. At the same time, she posted about Tristan’s suspension on Facebook, and other parents reached out to her. e no longer than the bottom of a dress shirt collar, bottom of the ear, and out of the eyes for male students,” and hair must also “ot be pinned up in any fashion nor be worn in a ponytail or bun for male students,” according to the lawsuit.Īfter that phone call, Miller called the ACLU and Lambda Legal, a civil rights organization focusing on defending the rights of LGBTQ+ people, looking for help, and was referred to another lawyer. Magnolia ISD’s old dress code had gendered policies for the length of hair, stating that “hair will. Parents band together to file a lawsuit against the district Magnolia ISD did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Dress codes are also gendered, the report found, which makes it difficult for nonbinary, gender nonconforming, or transgender students to adhere to them. Students of color, girls, and LGBTQ+ students are often disciplined disproportionately for dress code violations, according to a government accountability report, which called on the Department of Education to address dress code disparities. There was no acceptance for the LGBTQ community in that school.” “And it was at that point that I realized that there was no compassion. And I said, ‘what would you do if you had a child that was like this?’ And she said, ’I would cut his hair,’ and hung up the phone,” Miller said. “I explained to the principal, Tristan’s identification and just how Tristan likes to present themselves. Miller explained to their principal over the phone that their hair was part of Tristan’s identity, but was told that they would have to go to in-school suspension if they didn’t do it. “And it wasn’t because it was a kid being told they had to do something they wouldn’t want to do, it’s because Tristan was able to identify as nonbinary based on being able to present themselves as feminine with long hair.”Īccording to the district’s dress code at the time, Tristan, then 11, was not supposed to have long hair because they were assigned male at birth. “When I told Tristan that they were going to have to cut their hair because it was out of dress code, I was met with just absolute devastation and heartbreak,” she said. Besides, they had had long hair for years and never received a warning or reprimand for it, Miller said. Cutting their hair meant losing a key part of their identity, they told Miller. Now, they use he/they pronouns interchangeably.

On the second day of middle school at Magnolia ISD in Texas, in September 2021, Danielle Miller got a phone call from her kid’s principal, asking her to cut Tristan’s shoulder-length hair.Īt the time, Tristan identified as nonbinary.

High school yearbook photos altered