She was afraid of getting in trouble for getting her hair cut., I asked what happened and said I thought I told you no child should ever cut your hair, he continued. She was afraid of getting in trouble for getting her hair cut. 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 lawsuit against the school district, a librarian and a teacher's assistant. 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.. The father of a seven-year-old girl named Jurnee Hoffmeyer is filing a $1 million lawsuit against her previous school over her haircut, which was done without In thelawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Grand Rapids against Mount Pleasant Public Schools, Jimmy Hoffmeyer alleges his biracial daughter's constitutional rights were violated. 6 Amazon travel essentials for your next getaway, starting at $12. IE 11 is not supported. One tweeted: Father sues for $1M after Michigan teacher cuts 7-year-old daughters hair Teacher should not have cut that childs hair, thats for sure. Hoffmeyer, who is Black, said in March that his daughter Jurnee arrived home from Ganiard Elementary in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, with much of the hair on one side of her head cut. Following the incident, Hoffmeyer is appealing for justice for his daughters hair cut at school. Hoffmeyer said the girl who cut Jurnees hair and the teacher who cut it are white. 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 Maybe the teacher was trying to even out her hair, or maybe Jurnee had lice. The racial undertones make it worse, but honestly, why would you ever cut any kids hair without asking the parents?. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. This is a complete abuse of power. Under the Fourteenth Amendment, courts frequently conclude that a students hairstyle is a form of free expression, or that policies in question violate a students rights to freedom of expression or equal protection. Read more:Department of Civil Rights deeply concerned about Mount Pleasant girls haircut by school stafferMichigan school district says girl, 7, asked to have her hair cutMichigan girls haircut by school staffer modern-day scalping, says National Parents Union. Later, the schools principal told him the most that could happen to the library teacher was a note in her work file, Hoffmeyer said. People can still act on racial bias even with the best intentions, Laster said. 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. In the complaint, neither of those two school employees is identified by their first names. The librarian has been placed on a last chance employment notice and will be dismissed if there is any future infraction. It's clear from the third-party investigation and the districts own internal investigation that MPPS employees had good intentions when performing the haircut. Paragliders record never-before-seen footage of world's second-tallest mountain, Elizabeth Holmes has 2nd child as prison sentence looms, Dozens of sharks swarm fishing boat in feeding frenzy off Louisiana coast, video shows, Brunt of storm moving out of SoCal, light showers on tap Wednesday, Wake-Up Weather: AM showers then mild and breezy, Say goodbye to the iconic mail truck the postal service is electrifying its fleet, beginning with more than 9,000 new vehicles, Zero calorie sweetener linked to heart attack and stroke, study finds, USPS ordering 9,250 electric vehicles from Ford. Newsweek has contacted the Mount Pleasant Public Schools District, Ganiard Elementary School and Jimmy Hoffmeyer for comment. Jurnee Hoffmeyer on March 24 arrived home from Ganiard Elementary School, 101 S. Adams St., with the hair on one side of her head cut off. If she is convicted of any of the six counts, she could face up to three years and six months in prison. 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. 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. The teacher who cut it also is white, said Hoffmeyer who has two other daughters, ages 8 and 4. The school staffer who cut Jurnees hair is also white. I got mad and hung up, said Hoffmeyer who is Black and white. The local school board has deemed Jimmys allegations as baseless and have claimed that they would aggressively defend them in court., Jurnees father first made headlines in March after revealing that a teacher from his daughters school, Ganiard Elementary, had cut her hair without parental permission., He told The Associated Press in April that Jurnee arrived home from school with hair on one side cut. 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.. "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. Some private schools may have a dress code or code of conduct that includes stipulations about hair length for students, while others may not. The district did not specify how long the agreement would last. She said 'but dad, it was the teacher.' Did they really do an investigation?. Twitter users have noted that the teacher shouldnt have cut Jurnees hair, but some have mixed opinions about Jimmys racism allegations against the school and its staff. The employees involved have acknowledged their wrong actions and apologized. The teacher had been cutting the boys hair without permission from his parents. That librarian is now a named defendant in a $1 million civil rights lawsuit filed by the girls father. Jimmy Hoffmeyer of Michigan filed the case on behalf of his daughter Jurnee Hoffmeyer. The lawsuit claims that the librarian, along with the school district and a teachers assistant, violated Jurnees civil rights. Jurnee, seen here at age 7, is biracial. We believe a last-chance agreement is appropriate given that the employee has an outstanding record of conduct and has never once been reprimanded in more than 20 years of work at Mount Pleasant Public Schools, the board said. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. The incident occurred in March when seven-year-old Jurnee Hoffmeyer arrived home from school with the hair on one side of her head cut off. "We should probably call him and let him know what just happened.". She said a classmate used scissors to cut her hair on a school bus, Hoffmeyer told The Associated Press in April. Amy Bond, Mount Pleasant Public Schools Board of Education president, said Thursday that the district has not received the complaint. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The girl who cut Jurnees hair is white. Regardless of their good intentions, these actions are unacceptable and show a lack of judgement on the part of our two employees, Verleger wrote. We truly appreciate the support and patience by our students, staff and families while an independent, third-party investigation was conducted regarding an incident at Ganiard Elementary School. 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. A teacher who cut a students hair is a very bad teacher. 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 July, the Mount Pleasant school boardsaidthe staffer who had cut Jurnee's hair had been reprimanded. This teacher should be fired immediately. The teacher of a Minnesota middle school cut off the hair of a 12-year-old black boy without the permission of his parents. Michigan school district confident facts will prevail in $1 million racial discrimination lawsuit in girls haircutting incident, Father of girl, 7, who had hair cut off by school staffer files $1 million lawsuit alleging racial discrimination, Even as local efforts increase, hair discrimination is still legal in Michigan, Department of Civil Rights deeply concerned about Mount Pleasant girls haircut by school staffer, Michigan school district says girl, 7, asked to have her hair cut, Michigan girls haircut by school staffer modern-day scalping, says National Parents Union. In July, the Mount Pleasant Public Schools Board of Education said the staffer who cut Jurnees hair was reprimanded and an independent third-party investigation determined that despite good intentions of the worker who cut the girls hair, doing so without permission from her parents and without the knowledge of district administrators violated school policy. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Furthermore, the schools hair regulations may be in violation of the students equal protection rights because they may be based on a personal preference (such as the students hair length) rather than a legitimate educational interest. Jimmy Hoffmeyer, who is Black and white, said in March that a classmate used scissors to cut one side of his daughter's hair. Investigation Finds No Evidence Of Racial Bias In Jurnee In 2019, an 11-year-old cheerleader in Coloradowas cut from a private cheer teambecause she didn't wear her hair in a ponytail like her White and Latina teammates. It was a normal day at school when the teacher walked into the classroom and saw one of her students with a haircut that she didnt like. Hoffmeyer said he filed an incident report with the Mount Pleasant police, but as of Monday no officer had contacted him to follow up on the complaint. The act was sponsored by Rep. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, and first introduced in 2019, then reintroduced in February 2021. The Mount Pleasant School Districts superintendent dismissed the allegations as an example of misinformation. There could be a few reasons why the teacher cut Jurnees hair. It is also New Jerseys preeminent, comprehensive public institution of higher education. Copyright 2023 ClickOnDetroit.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. It alleges that the biracial girl's constitutional rights were violated, racial discrimination, ethnic intimidation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault and battery. The school board, on the other hand, has determined that jurors hair was not cut to coincide with her race. Jurnees mother is white. 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. To achieve our mission of providing a world-class education to all MPPS students, we must continuously strive to improve and acknowledge when we have not lived up to our own high standards. 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.. And two Texas high school studentswere suspended from schoolin 2020 because they refused to cut off their dreadlocks. There is no definitive answer to this question as it depends on the specific private school in India in question. Jimmy Hoffmeyer / AP. Parents are upset that they were not informed about the incident and that they are eager for more information. It will also prepare you to, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is one of the worlds leading research universities. As the girls father claims, Ms. Moggs,urnees library teacher, cut off her hair with the assistance of Ms. Jacobs, the schools teachers assistant. 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.". She said but dad, it was the teacher. The teacher cut her hair to even it out, he added further., Jimmy said he informed the principal of the school, but he wasnt pleased with the explanation he got., Months later, Jurnees father is filing a $1 Million lawsuit against the school district and two staff members who were involved in cutting his daughters hair., Jimmy, who is Black, has reportedly spoken about alleged racial discrimination against his daughter in the lawsuit., According to MLive.com, the lawsuit states that 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., However, an investigation by the school district in July concluded that the teacher had not acted with racial bias, according to BBC.. Mr Hoffmeyer is Black and white, and Jurnees mother is white. He said he was told the school would talk to the parents of the classmate involved in the first haircut and that a note would be placed in the teacher's work file. 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 and a teacher's assistant. She was afraid of getting in trouble for getting her hair cut., I asked what happened and said I thought I told you no child should ever cut your hair. About 4 percent of Mount Pleasants 25,000 residents are Black, according to the U.S. Census. "She kept asking me what she could do to make it go away.". After allegedly pressuring a student into getting a haircut, a California teacher was fired and charged with six misdemeanor counts of child cruelty. "I've pretty much grown up with only white people, myself. Two days before the recent settlement conference, defense counsel filed a motion seeking the cases dismissal. 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