Texas School Isolates Boy, 4, Over Long Hair

A 4-year-old Texas boy is being taught in isolation from the rest of his classmates—and faces an even harsher punishment—for not cutting his hair to conform to the school district’s grooming code. Taylor Pugh now works one-on-one with a teacher’s aide during the school day at his pre-kindergarten; the suburban Dallas district says next week he’ll be working alone at a desk in a school office.

School rules say hair can’t extend below the earlobes and must be kept out of boys’ eyes; the district offered to lift the isolation that Taylor’s faced since November if he keeps it in tight braids. The family’s tried that in the past, his father contends, and it caused Taylor’s scalp to break and bleed. In any case, Delton Pugh, who’s looking for a lawyer, tells the Morning News, “there is no reason he should have to cut his hair.”