By Tracy Stokes, BET.com Staff Writer
Posted Aug. 21, 2006 &endash; A Fort Worth, Texas high school decided not to suspend a senior with Kool-Aid red hair after her mother, who sported a matching 'do, challenged its policy on "unnatural" hair.
Speaking to BET.com Monday, Janet Wynne, assistant superintendent for Crowley Independent School District said that red-hot situation has cooled.
"After a meeting with school officials Friday, Meisha was permitted to return to class without changing the color of her hair, and the school district has changed its interpretation of 'unnatural' hair color," Wynne told BET.com.
The school policy now reads that full heads of primary color, intermediate colors, and/or metallic colors are not allowed. Some allowances shall be given to students with subtle shades of color and/or highlights.
During the first week of school, senior Meisha Franklin was called into the principal's office at North Crowley High, a school that promotes creativity according to its Web site, for wearing a red 'do, similar to that of singer Keyshia Cole's.
Meisha said she thought she was being called to the office because her shirt was out a bit, but instead, it was for her hair.
Refusing to stand for her daughter's dismissal, Kelicia Franklin headed to the school to demand a meeting.
Crowley High Principal Trent Lovette told WFAA-TV that he was just sticking to the rules that were put in place by a team of both parents and teachers. Meisha was set to serve an in-school suspension every day she showed up at school with red hair.
"We want to eliminate as many distractions as possible," he had said, adding that students need to look their best and be about success at school.
Perturbed with his initial ruling, Kelicia said:
"If you are going to continue to have African-American students in your school, you need to learn their culture.
It's not only "presentable," she said, but a tasteful choice for Black women.
Wynne told BET.com that she believes that parents are please with change in the policy change.