Wild hair banned in classrooms

The Whitefish School Board tangled last week with a policy in the student handbooks that outlines how students can style their hair.

The school board reviewed the Muldown, middle and high school handbook changes for next school year during its April 10 meeting.

Muldown’s changes included adding, “Unnatural hair colors and styles are academic distractions. Hair must be kept out of face to provide clear vision and promote good eye contact.” The middle and high school have similar rules in their policy.

Trustees Shannon Hanson and Shawn Watts said they object to the hair rule. Both questioned how unnatural hair is defined and why it’s considered a distraction.

School administrators said that unnatural color is defined as a color that people are not born with.

High school vice principal Jackie Fuller said when a student comes to school with dyed hair it distracts from that day’s classroom lessons.

“It’s the highlight of the day,” she said. “It becomes a communication issue.”

After much discussion and language changes the board approved the policy changes, including the hair rule, 6-1. Watts was the sole no vote.

Josh Branstetter, middle school and Muldown vice principal, said administrators attempt to be as objective as possible when determining if a hairstyle is unnatural.

“In the teacher’s opinion and in our experience what has been distracting is how we determine if it’s unnatural and is against the rule,” he said.

Branstetter explained the rule about bangs saying that students’ bangs are often long enough to block the eyes. “Bangs can be down to the eyelashes as long as we can make eye contact,” he said.

Watts said hair becomes distracting when its part of policy and the policy sets the district up for problems.

“Part of the reality is it doesn’t become an issue because it’s a distraction,” he said. “It becomes an issue because it’s in the policy. Long before it becomes a distraction it’s already determined to be an issue.”

Trustee Dave Fern said the rule, which is part of the handbooks’ dress and appearance policy, sets guidelines for students’ personal appearance.

“These are encouraging students to dress for respect,” Fern said. “There is some subjectivity to it, but if something isn’t a distraction then it’s OK. To some it may be a minor distraction, but the purpose students are here is for learning and not someone’s hair.”

Hanson said he would conditionally approve the rule if the language was changed to read, “may be an academic distraction” rather than “are academic distractions.” The board and administrators agreed to the language rewrite.

Hanson asked for a continued conversation on the issue at a later date.

“One of the criticisms, I hear, of this district is that it tends to put its thumb down on individualism,” he said.

One change to the middle school handbook is the modification of the cell phone policy.

The old policy required students with cell phones to check them in at the office during the school day. The new policy allows for cell phones in a students’ possession as long as the phone is turned off and kept in a backpack or locker during the day. Phones can only be used outside of the school building.