Colored hair, beards approved for Rapides Parish public school students

You soon could see some Rapides Parish students sporting colored hair or beards after Tuesday's vote to modify those policies.

After a substitute motion to delay action until the summer failed on a tie vote, the School Board voted 5-3 for member Steve Berry’s motion that made changes to policies covering student hair colors and facial hair. The measure also made a change to how jeans can be worn to school.

The changes won’t take effect for 30 days.

As he said during a September committee meeting, Berry said he’d talked to administrators and parents who asked him to bring it up for several reasons, among them not turning school administrators into “hair police.”

Member Wilton Barrios made the substitute motion to push the issue back to the summer so that teachers, principals and parents could have input on any possible changes. Plus, he said the change regarding jeans goes against what he’s heard in his District A, which covers Wards 10 and 11 in the Tioga area.

“I’ve heard entirely different things from the district I represent, that they don’t want to see the dress code changed,” he said. “They want it left as it is because it’s a safety issue. Seeing students in a uniform, you can spot someone who’s from the outside more easily, and I think we need more time to think about this before we change it.

“And, also, it will interrupt the school year to change in the middle of the year.”

Member Linda Burgess mumbled about the previous vote to change the policy on vaping, a change Barrios sought and voted for. She asked him about it, but Barrios said he voted for that “for the safety of our kids.”

Burgess asked again, and Barrios gave the same reply to some laughter from the audience.

Member Keith Breazeale noted there were only three items that would change, so he didn’t see it as an overhaul of the district’s dress code.

Voting for the substitute motion were Barrios, Breazeale and members Darrell Rodriguez and Buddy McCall. Voting against it were Berry, Burgess, member Sandra Franklin and President Dr. Stephen Chapman.

The vote then was held on Berry’s original measure. Voting against that were Barrios, Rodriguez and McCall.

Committee discussionRapides School Board to discuss new hair colors, facial hair rules for students in October

Fades, fros and locsHouse passes CROWN Act banning race-related hair discrimination

The board also earlier in the meeting passed by a 7-1 vote an item pulled from its consent agenda by Barrios, who was the lone no vote. It aligns the district’s policy with what’s become known as the CROWN Act, or the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act.

Gov. John Bel Edwards signed the act into law in June. It prohibits discrimination against anyone wearing natural or cultural hair styles.

After the meeting, Superintendent Jeff Powell clarified that the hair color policy still states hair cannot be “a distraction to the learning environment.” He said the facial hair policy now would allow beards as well as mustaches, as long as they’re “neatly groomed.”

And the jeans change merely clears up wording in the policy, he said. Jeans can be worn at a principal’s discretion, according to the policy, but it also stated in another spot they were not allowed.

“As all of our parents know, principals do allow for out-of-dress days that include jeans on certain days,” said Powell. “Sometimes they use it as fundraisers, things like that.”

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Rapides students now free to sport colorful hair, beards