Jurnee Hoffmeyer arrived home from Ganiard Elementary in Mount Pleasant with hair missing just before spring break, her father, Jimmy, said in April. Nonetheless, their actions were unacceptable and showed a major lack of judgement, the district said. Most schools have a dress code that teachers are required to follow. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The district is located about 150 miles (241 kilometers) northwest of Detroit. "She kept asking me what she could do to make it go away.". Ive pretty much grown up with only white people, myself.. After the haircutting incident, Hoffmeyer removed Jurnee from Ganiard and enrolled her in another school. Jurnee was removed from the school by her father and now attends classes elsewhere. The girl's hair was originally cut by a classmate on the school bus but was cut again by a teacher at Ganiard Elementary School days later to "even it out.". As your Board, we have made every effort to address this matter with the seriousness and care it deserves and with the transparency our community expects. Some feel that the teacher was justified in her actions, while others feel that she went too far. In the spirit of transparency, we are presenting the key findings from this investigation and resulting discipline as recommended by Superintendent Jennifer Verleger with support from the school board. The short hair required by schools in India is an attempt to give students a proper dress code and a proper hairstyle. Hoffmeyer took his little girl to a hair salon to make the differing lengths less obvious but was enraged to discover that two days later, a teacher had also taken to his daughter's hair. The father said he found the explanations he has received from the school principal and the Mount Pleasant Public Schools District disappointing. We are confident that the facts will prevail given our districts appropriate and aggressive response to the incident and the findings of the third-party investigation that was conducted, Bond said in a statement. Did they really do an investigation?. This undated photo provided by Jimmy Hoffmeyer shows his daughter Jurnee Hoffmeyer, 7, after a classmate and a teacher cut her hair on separate occasions. These written reprimands will go into the employees respective files. Hoffmeyer is working with the National Parents Union, a national network of parent organizations and activists that advocate to improve the quality of life for children. I asked what happened and said I thought I told you no child should ever cut your hair, Hoffmeyer said at the time. Hoffmeyer is working with the National Parents Union, a national network of parent organizations and activists that advocate to improve the quality of life for children. The father of a 7-year-old Michigan girl whose hair was cut in school without her parents' consent has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the school district, a librarian The union has called on the school to issue a formal apology to the family "for violating their rights and cutting Jurnee's hair without parental advisement or consent" and "formal consequences to the educators and staff who decided to act without parental permission, guidance or consent.". Piper also wrote her clients were entitled to qualified immunity. If a teacher cuts a students hair without permission, it could be considered assault and the teacher could be fired. This is a complete abuse of power. Verified account Protected Tweets @; Suggested users Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The school called after the bus incident and said the little girl stole the scissors off the teachers desk, and they were going to talk to the parents and deal with it accordingly, he said. He is also suing for racial discrimination, ethnic intimidation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and assault and battery. A teacher at a school in Georgia was caught on video cutting a black students hair while he was asleep in class. The Crown Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act) has been referred to the Senate. IE 11 is not supported. A teacher who cut a students hair is a very bad teacher. Cutting a students hair on school grounds either with or without parent permission is a clear violation of school policy. That probe included conducting interviews and reviewing video footage and photographic evidence. There is no evidence that Defendants actions shocks the conscience and did not result in an injury so severe so as to constitute a substantive due process violation under the Fourteenth Amendment.. Please enter valid email address to continue. Jurnee, seen here at age 7, is biracial. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. The father of a 7-year-old Michigan girl whose hair was cut by a teacher without her parents permission has filed a $1 million Mean Lori Lightfoot Beetlejuice memes go viral as Chicago mayor concedes, {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. The district did not specify how long the agreement would last. The librarian who cut Jurnee Hoffmeyers hair was reprimanded by the Board of Education, who agreed to place her on a last chance agreement, in which she would almost certainly be fired if she violates it again in the future. Professional development will also be a key part of learning from this experience and improving as a district. Jimmy Hoffmeyer, a father in Michigan, is suing the school district in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, because a school employee cut his daughter's hair. However, there are no specific rules about teachers cutting students hair. On March 24, Jurnee arrived home from Ganiard Elementary with much of the hair on one side cut. The NPU is working to raise awareness of the Crown Act, a bill that bans race-based hair discrimination, which is already law in some states. In a statement released late Tuesday, District Superintendent Jennifer Verleger confirmed Hoffmeyers story, adding the childs teacher was aware of the library employees plan to cut the students hair. Regardless, their decisions and actions are unacceptable and show a major lack of judgement. She brought in professional shears and special barrettes.Jurnees teacher was also aware of the library employees plan to cut the girls hair, Verleger wrote. A Michigan father has moved his 7-year-old biracial daughter from one school to another after the childs hair was cut on separate occasions by a classmate and a teacher. So embarrassed. "After that teacher cut her hair, she was so embarrassed. She was afraid of getting in trouble for getting her hair cut," Hoffmeyer told the Associated Press. Who do you think cut Jurnees hair? Oh, hell NO!! But the district did not say who performed the independent investigation, and Laster said neither Jurnee nor her parents had been contacted by independent investigators. LANSING, MI The Michigan Department of Civil Rights has taken notice of a recent incident involving a Mount Pleasant schoolgirl having her hair cut by a fellow student and then by a staff member, incidents that have garnered public outcry. Some private schools may have a dress code or code of conduct that includes stipulations about hair length for students, while others may not. "We should probably call him and let him know what just happened.". It alleges that the biracial girls constitutional rights were violated, racial discrimination, ethnic intimidation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault and battery. Michigan is one of the states considering a CROWN Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act to protect women and girls who are frequently discriminated against for wearing natural hair. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. A month after the March incident, Midwest delegate for the National Parents Union Bernita Bradley, who is working with Mr Hoffmeyer, described the incident as a modern-day scalping and says that Jurnee has been left traumatised. Now, the Mount The investigation included interviews with district personnel, students and families, as well as a review of video and photos, including posts on social media, the district said. On video, the teacher can be seen cutting the hair of a student seated in the front row of a classroom at University Preparatory High School in California. She kept asking me what she could do to make it go away.. As your Board, we have made every effort to address this matter with the seriousness and care it deserves and with the transparency our community expects, the board said. ", "Our kind of hair, you can't just wet down and cut it because and that's when I feel like they should have, even if they were trying to do it in the kindest of their heart, once they seen the outcome, they should have been like, yeah we messed up," he told ABC12. Jimmy Hoffmeyer on Tuesday, Sept. 14, filed his federal lawsuit on behalf of daughter Jurnee Hoffmeyer in the Western District of Michigan. Ingham County on March 23 passed a resolution to become the first county in the state to ban hair discrimination against public employees. A teacher in Michigan is accused of cutting off a students hair because of his biracial skin. When asked, she said a classmate used scissors to chop her hair off on the bus., However, two days later, Jurnee arrived home with her hair on the other side cut as well and told her father that her teacher did it., Jimmy told at the time: She was crying. The district did not immediately respond to phone calls or emails asking who conducted the investigation and whether they contacted the Hoffmeyer family. Other schools have drawn unwanted attention for policing the hairstyles of students of color. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Jimmy Hoffmeyer seeks $1 million from Mount Pleasant Public Schools, alleging it violated his biracial daughters constitutional rights. 91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Librarian On Last Chance Agreement After Cutting Students Hai The librarian who cut Jurnee Hoffmeyers hair was reprimanded by the Board of Education, who agreed to place her on a last chance agreement, in which she would almost certainly be fired if she violates it again in the future. The employee who cut Hoffmeyers hair acted with good intentions, as did two other district employees who were aware of the haircut but did not alert Hoffmeyers parents or the school district, the board said in a statement emailed Friday. Two other employees were aware of the incident but did not report it and have been officially reprimanded. The district failed to properly train, monitor, direct, discipline, and supervise their employees, and knew or should have known that the employees would engage in the complained of behavior given the improper training, customs, procedures, and policies, and the lack of discipline that existed for employees, according to the lawsuit. Verleger wrote that Jurnee had asked a fellow student to cut her hair at school. The teacher had been cutting the boys hair without permission from his parents. The board added that the third-party inquiry was performed in addition to an internal review by the school districts administration. In addition, Superintendent Verleger has recommended and the Board has accepted written reprimands for two additional MPPS employees who were aware of the incident but did not alert the students parents or the Administration.. In this conversation. Mr Hoffmeyer is Black and white, and Jurnees mother is white. Staggering snowfall in California mountains leaves residents trapped for days, Garland testifies before Senate panel amid ongoing special counsel probes, Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds, Firefighter dies battling blaze in downtown Buffalo, mayor says, Explosive found in checked luggage at Pennsylvania airport, feds say, 20,000 people may have been exposed to measles at Asbury University revival, Prosecution wraps its case at Alex Murdaugh murder trial, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother, Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, The Crown Act challenges hair discrimination, The Crown Act seeks to protect against hair discrimination. The reprimands were to go in the employees files. The librarian has been placed on a last chance employment notice and will be dismissed if there is any future infraction. Cutting a students hair on school grounds either with or without parent permission is a clear violation of school policy. Investigation Finds No Evidence Of Racial Bias In Jurnee About 4 percent of Mount Pleasants 25,000 residents are Black, according to the U.S. Census. "We are confident that the facts will prevail given our district's appropriate and aggressive response to the incident and the findings of the third-party investigation that was conducted," Bond said in a statement. Jimmy Hoffmeyer said his daughters constitutional rights were violated., He is reportedly suing the school district and two staff members. Hoffmeyer Said Jurnee Was Crying & Afraid of Getting in Trouble After the Teacher Cut Her Hair Hoffmeyer said in an interview with the Associated Press that The key takeaways in both reviews are consistent, the board stated. It is best to check with the school directly to inquire about their policies regarding hair length for students. 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