Jessica was furious when her 4-year-old son Jabez got sent home early on his second day of school. Her son was so excited to start pre-K, and now he had to spend the rest of the week at home.
The reason why he was sent home enraged Jessica even further.
Jessica Oates
Jessica Oates was excited for her son to start going to school. She had bought all the necessary supplies he needed for class and some new clothes, too.
But she had no idea what awaited her.
At School
Jabez arrived at school wearing new clothes and a backpack. Jessica and her son were new to the town, and they hadn't had a chance to meet many people yet.
So, she figured this would be a great way for Jabez to make some new friends at school and leave a good impression on his teachers.
Excited For School
“I got him so excited to go to school for his first day,” Jessica said. “I thought I had all my ducks in a row.”
However, just two days later, Jessica found out that her son was sent home early for the most bizarre reason.
Not Appropriate
According to Jabez's school, his appearance and clothes weren't appropriate and were against the dress code.
The school administration told Jessica that her son wouldn't be allowed back. But what was the reason?
The Reason
It turned out that Jabez wasn't allowed to come back to school because of his long hair. Jessica had never cut his hair for cultural reasons.
However, Barbers Hill Independent School District didn't accept that and insisted that she cut her son's hair.
American Indian
“My family is American Indian,” Jessica told New York Post interview. “We are Cocopah Indian, and that was the documentation that I was going to provide for the reason for my son’s long hair.”
However, according to her son's school, this reason wasn't good enough.
“Inappropriate hair accessory"
Jessica tried putting her son's hair in a bun, but the school refused to accept him. The staff clearly had a problem with the four-year-old's hair.
The school also cited Jabez's hair tie as an "inappropriate hair accessory."
Unwilling To Compromise
"Apparently, the school board is a stickler for rules and can't think of any religions or cultures that would require long hair," Jessica told New York Post.
The school was unwilling to compromise no matter what. Jessica knew she had to do something about it.
Signal Of Strength
Jessica explained that having long hair is a "signal of strength" for her family. And besides, she didn't want to cut her son's hair because he liked it a lot.
“He doesn’t want to cut his hair. It’s just a part of who he is,” she told The Huffington Post.
Upset
Sadly, being banned from school has affected her son negatively.
“At first, I didn’t believe it impacted him as much as it did. He’s a smart, very observant little boy. Since Monday, he has been very angry,” Jessica told TODAY. But what were their options?
Change In Behavior
Jessia was hundred percent sure that the change in her son's behavior had to do with being sent home from school.
According to her, Jabez has been “confused as to why he can’t go to school anymore." As a result, Jessica decided to start an online petition on Change.org as she couldn't stand to see her son cry.
Online Petition
Her goal was to get the school to rethink a dress code, which in her opinion, was discriminatory.
On the petition page, she wrote a post urging people to help her. “It’s a sexist rule that should not be implemented for boys if it’s not implemented for girls,” Jessica wrote.
Results
So far, Jessica's petition has reached over 11,000 signatures with a target of 15,000.
Many people left comments under her post as well. So whose side were they on?
Feedback
"It's stupid to deny a child an education just because they have long hair," one person commented.
“If girls can have short haircuts, then why can’t boys have long hair?” another person wrote.