A Teacher Cut a Biracial Child’s Long Hair Without Permission, Dad Wants Answers

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A Michigan father transferred his biracial seven-year-old daughter out of her school and into another school after a school employee and another child cut his daughter’s hair. Jimmy Hoffmeyer said that his little girl, Jurnee, came home after school on March 24 with one side of her hair cut off. At that time, a child had cut her hair. Jimmy took her that evening to get her hair cut and the little girl got an asymmetrical style to disguise the chopping of her hair. The salon even offered to give her free haircuts until the other side grew back. However, that’s when things got worse.

A few days later, Jurnee came home from school with the other side of her hair cut off, and later, the man discovered that a school employee had cut off his daughter’s hair. He told the Associated Press that Jurney was crying and fearful of getting in trouble for allowing someone to cut her hair. Apparently, the teacher cut her hair to “even it out,” he says. He learned this when he asked her why she let someone cut her hair again. Jurnee explained that it was the teacher. In an interview with USA Today, Jimmy told the outlet that he had to relentlessly call the school district for answers.

In the end, the district’s superintendent, Jennifer Verleger, offered to write Jurnee a letter of apology, which is appalling to the father. Jimmy says that he doesn’t want to make the incident about race, but that it’s hard to come to decisions when you don’t have answers as to why such a thing would occur in the first place. In a statement, the school district said the usual “blah blah” language, citing their “striving to ensure all students learn and achieve” etc…They said that Jurnee grew dissatisfied and unhappy with her hair, so she asked an employee in the school library to cut it for her.

Here is a news video about this story.