Boy with long hair may leave school

MESQUITE, Texas, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The parents of a Texas 4-year-old whose hair was declared a violation of school dress code said they may remove him from the school.

Ian Halprin, a spokesman for Mesquite Independent School District, said Wednesday Taylor Pugh -- who has been receiving one-on-one instruction in the Floyd Elementary School library since his hair was declared a violation of district dress code late last year -- could be placed in in-school suspension or in the school office and lose his individual instruction as early as next week, The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday.

The boy's parents, Delton Pugh and Elizabeth Taylor, said in response they may simply keep the boy home from his pre-kindergarten class. They said they have no intention of cutting the boy's hair.

District dress code guidelines do not allow for boys to wear hair long enough to reach past their shirt collars.

"If he's not supervised, if he's not learning, there's no reason to leave him there," the boy's mother said.

The parents said Taylor can't wear his hair in braids, a compromise offered by the district, because it hurts his scalp.