Hey Guys so im in a bit of adilemma. I have to go to the Alternative school and guys are not allowed to have long hair. They also say that you cant have dreads. So i have to cut my hair to above my ear and to my eyebrows. Im not brushing it out though, there are only about 4 pieces that are strongly dreaded so i dont think theyll notice i have dreads. But i am keeping my nappy hair. Any tips on what to do? Thanks
Yeah, dont go to that school!!!! =P that really sucks dude Im sorry.
fight the power that policy is unconstitutional and descriminatory..and ilegal
just tell them your spiritual or religios beliefs prevent you from cutting your hair or combing out dreads
I agree with SE, smart man! 
Education is important, but I wouldn't trust the education in a school that suppresses your sense of individuality and self-comfort. I guess if you must go to that school, you have no choice but to cut them :\ unless there's a legal route you can go, but that might take a lot of time and money, so might not be worth it to you.
ill tell ya a true story
i went to a school..a trade school that made me cut my dreads and war a suite and tie ..it was just a 6 month thing too i did it i went through the traumatic experience of cutting my dreads altering my entire personality to be a yuppy (ewww) i graduated with good grades then ..broke my back the day of my graduation party and ended up in a wheelchair..thank god so month later im back to my own life my dreads are growing (and will never stop for life) and i escaped that corporate hell
yogi sunshine dont got dreads yet..she dont undertand yet
education may not be more imprtant then hair when dreads are important and the path the wrong education sets u on can make your entu[ire life miserable
if i hadnt broken my back id be miserable with the life i was headd into
but the life i got instead i love (even the hasrd parts)
will this school really help you reach your goals in life or is it more about your parents goals for you?
the legal route wont be expensive or time consuming becaue all the legal precedents are alreadsy set
they have no deffence they have to alloew them
at the very most they can request a letter of explanation of your religios or spiritual views and/or a letter from a spiritual or religios leader a s to why you should be allowed to dread
it wont go to court..unless you decide to takle it there and sue them
policy cannot contradict law..or constitutional rights
(assumming yor in america??)
Ok, who runs the school? Aspira, Excel, etc... Many alternative schools are still in some sort of partnership with the state. In that case it'll be easier to fight the system. If they are a private, like the 2 I just mentioned, There might be a harder to fight legal way around it. My girlfriend works for Aspira, and they are more tolerant even with the teachers. On of her coworkers even has a mohawk. But Excel tends to be much more strict. Their students walk in the hallways in silence, hands behind their backs. It's verymilitaristic there. It's necessary for their students though, and works wonders.
Even if it is hard to fight, it's never impossible. What you need to consider is what your locks mean to you. Are theytruly a spiritual/religious gesture? Most people with locks find that they do bring out some sort of spirituality in them, but their locks, themselves, were not grown for any particular reason such as that.
Is keeping your locks worth the time and expense of talking to a lawyer and working out the legality of your situation? Yogi Sunshine may not have locks yet, but does bring up a valid point. Education is VERY important. And your hair will always be there when you get out of school.
That being said, If you are seriously growing locks for a religious/spiritual reason, and not just going to claim it so you don't have to cut them, then they are protected under the first amendment.
I'd like to know more about who owns your new school. I'll look into if there are any laws/ dress codes they may have.
There's a good chance that the principal might just be very conservative and doesn't like long hair on guys.
and get the specific wording of the policy in writing in almost all cases it wont just say "no dreadlocks' but instead will say something like no distractinghairstyles like dreadlocks unatural colors mohawks etc except when culturaly or religiosly appropriate... something like that that alows a loophole if your culture tends to have a specific hairstyle assocated with it
so are we talking "got kicked out of school and now they're sending you to an alternative school" or a trade school your paying for? i would think that would make a difference in the fight.
