The parents of a middle school student have filed a lawsuit against a Houston school district and school officials for reportedly coloring in the student's hair design with black permanent marker.
Officials at the school alleged that the haircut of the then-seventh grader—who is black—breached the district's dress code policy, according to CNN. The suit claims, "They laughed as they took many minutes to color 13-year-old J.T's scalp which took many days of scrubbing to come off."
Filed in federal court, the lawsuit says that the student, Juelz Trice, got a fade haircut on April 16 and was sent to the office when he got to school the next day. The suit names principal Tony Barcelona, discipline clerk Helen Day, teacher Jeanette Peterson, and the school district as defendants.
Trice was given two options: color his haircut in with a black sharpie or go to in-school suspension. He didn't want a suspension to impact his track team eligibility, so he chose the permanent marker. The suit says that the black sharpie made the design in his hair more visible. Day began coloring in his hair, and Peterson was asked to help—both of whom are white. The parents' attorney said the school never notified the family before using the permanent marker on his head.
The school district has said it hasn't received notification of a lawsuit. The suit asks for compensatory and punitive damages, and for the court to order that school district employees go through racial sensitivity training about certain hairstyles.
