When this girl’s school called her dyed hair a “distraction,” she fought back

This past year, we’ve seen students take their fight against unfair dress codes online to raise awareness and gain support. From Change.org petitions to hashtag campaigns to viral Facebook posts, students are using the Internet to fight back against a system that would deny them an education based on the length of their shorts, or whether or not their shoulders are showing.

Now, that fight includes hair color. Isabelle Warby, a junior at Bastrop High School in Texas, dyed her hair a gorg shade of purple over the summer. She didn’t think her new hue would be a big deal. However, as 570 News reports, when Warby rolled up to school this year, she was told by her administration that as long as her hair remained purple she would not be allowed to attend classes or receive a student ID. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Warby was also told that she would receive an in-school suspension for every day her hair remained purple.

So why all the commotion about the color of Warby’s hair? As Warby explained to 570 News, she was directed by her assistant principal to confront the school board about the issue, and when she did, a representative of the board told Warby that her hair color “…was a distraction for other students and unprofessional.”

With the support of her parents, Warby took to social media to protest this ruling. She posted the following picture on her Facebook page, in which she explains that she has been denied an education based on the color of her hair, and in less than a week, the post has been shared well over 2o,000 times.

Warby also started a Change.org petition, along with Support Tattoos and Piercings At Work (STAPAW), to protest her school’s unfair ruling. As of today, over 350 people have signed the petition.

“We are submitting this petition because we feel colored hair is not distracting, and improperly places undue attention on appearance over education,” it states. “In today’s culture, colored hair is so common, that even if at one time it was distracting, it is no longer the case. Being distracted while texting and driving causes 23% of all auto collisions, yet being distracted by multi-colored hair while driving causes 0% of all auto collisions. Netflix distracts you, Facebook distracts you, surfing the web distracts you, but you will never hear a story of how someone lost a whole afternoon of productivity by seeing colored hair.”

Unfortunately, in order to resume her education in a timely manner, Warby was forced to dye her hair back, even though she made it clear to her school board that dying her hair twice in such a short period of time would cause severe damage to her hair. That said, we think Warby 100% made her point and we sincerely hope her efforts will help pave the way for schools to leave their students’ hair alone.

Related:

Mom’s Facebook response to sexist school dress codes deserves a slow clap

Students’ reaction to that viral school dress code video is perfect

(Image via Facebook)