North Carolina School Tells First-Grade Native Student To Cut Hair

A family of Native American descent from North Carolina is contesting a state-funded charter school’s insistence that their first-grade son must cut his hair. The school system recently amended its dress and grooming regulations, categorizing a boy sporting a bun or braids as exhibiting a “faddish” hairstyle.

Belonging to the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe, one of the eight state-recognized tribes in North Carolina, the Lomboy family is seeking to preserve their cultural heritage. Ashley Lomboy, the young boy Logan’s mother, shared with Native News Online on Friday that her son is practicing Native American traditions by participating as a powwow dancer and growing his hair—longer than shoulder-length—following ancestral customs. Logan has been attending Classical Charter School - Leland in Leland, NC, for approximately 18 months.

Logan attended kindergarten at the same school and is now a first-grade student there. The previous school policy required boys’ hair to be tidy and above the collar. To adhere to the dress and grooming standards, Logan’s mother mentioned that she puts his hair in a bun.

The school is part of the Classical Charters of America, which owns three additional schools in North Carolina. The organization operates educational institutions in Southport, Whiteville, and Wilmington, NC, accommodating over 2,500 students. These schools are managed by The Roger Bacon Academy, which is headquartered in Leland.

On February 20, 2023, the Lomboy family learned of a change in the school’s dress and grooming policy, according to Logan’s mother, who is employed by her tribe in developing a STEM program. That day, as Logan’s father dropped off his two sons at school, a school official informed him verbally that Logan’s hair needed to be cut due to an alteration in the policy. The official explained that the school system had redefined the term “fad” to encompass boys’ hair in buns or braids.

The following day, Ashley reached out to the school official to request a waiver for Logan to maintain his current hair length. She was instructed to complete a grievance form. Despite her compliance, the school has issued two rejections, insisting that Logan must cut his hair.

Ashley also shared with Native News Online that Logan has an 8-year-old brother who prefers to keep his hair short. She emphasized that their family allows each child to decide the extent to which they want to embrace their Native culture.

Nevertheless, Ashley likens the current situation with the school system to the historical treatment of Native Americans, when their culture was taken from them, and they were displaced and marginalized.

“Logan’s hair is an extension of who he is,” Ashley stated. “Without his hair, he will lose part of himself and a crucial element of his heritage. Native Americans have been wearing their hair long since time immemorial. The Waccamaw Siouan Tribe has and continues to care for the land that Classical Charter Schools of Leland now occupies and all the surrounding land of the Cape Fear region for over 1,000 years. The school’s disregard for Logan’s identity and our tribal customs is unnecessary, unjust, and deeply offensive to who we are and who our tribe has always been.”

The Waccamaw Siouan Indians Tribe, based in Bolton, NC, sent a letter supporting the Lomboy family, asserting that the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe is a sovereign nation with its own distinct cultural traditions, including the importance of long hair. Cutting one’s hair without an appropriate reason and ceremony is a breach of their beliefs and customs.

In a letter to the school system, Waccamaw Siouan Indians Tribal Chair Terry Mitchell wrote, “We urge you to make an exception for Logan and any other Native American children who wish to keep their long hair as an expression of their cultural identity. It is important to respect and honor the cultural practices and beliefs of Native American communities, especially when they involve sacred aspects such as keeping our hair long.”

Seeking further support, Ashley turned to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). On March 20, 2023, the national ACLU and the ACLU of North Carolina released a statement asserting that demanding Logan to cut his hair violates his religious and cultural beliefs. They claimed that Classical Charter Schools of Leland, as a public charter school and recipient of federal education funds, seems to be violating the North Carolina Constitution, the U.S. Constitution, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Two days later, on March 20, 2023, the school system issued a statement countering the ACLU’s actions, describing the organization’s charges as “trumped up charges of discrimination.”

Baker A. Mitchell, President and CEO of The Roger Bacon Academy, which manages the four CCS-A charter schools, stated, “The ACLU seems more interested in creating controversy than resolving it. Our schools have procedures for dealing with matters such as these. A review is underway and will be considered by the Board on April 27. Instead of respecting the process, the ACLU has jumped in with threats and accusations that drive people apart rather than bring them together.”