by Allison Ross

Changes to a school's dress code to prohibit many of the hairstyles favored by black students with natural hair ignited a social media firestorm this week and has led the school to hastily convene a meeting to examine its policy.

Attica Scott, a mother of a student at Butler Traditional High and a state House candidate, first raised questions about the policy Wednesday on Twitter after her daughter brought back a paper from school registration that outlined the school's dress code for the year.

That policy states that "hair styles that are extreme, distracting or attention-getting will not be permitted" and specifically prohibits dreadlocks, cornrows and twists in hair, among other hairstyles.

Scott and her daughter, Ashanti, who is an incoming sophomore at Butler, say the prohibition of some of these hairstyles is new this school year.

"I don't understand why we're going to focus on something like natural hair styles when we should be focused on education," Scott said. "They specifically outlined hairstyles that are worn most by black kids. To me, this stinks of institutional racism."

She decried the policy as discriminatory against black students who wear their hair in a natural, unstraightened state. And after Scott posted the policy on Twitter on Wednesday evening, several people shared similar concerns, with many expressing outrage at the policy.

Jefferson County Public Schools' own chief equity officer, John Marshall, tweeted photos Thursday morning of his three daughters sporting different hairstyles, including cornrows, dyed hair and beads.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky also posted more than half a dozen tweets Thursday saying it was reviewing Butler's policy.

"Understandably, schools have adopted dress codes, in part, to keep the learning environment free from distraction," one tweet said. "Singling out culturally specific hairstyles may send a signal to students of color that their very being is a distraction in the classroom," read another.

In response to the outcry, Butler High's school-based decision-making council – which governs the school's dress code policy, among other things – announced it will hold a special meeting at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Western High School, since Butler High is under construction this summer.

In Kentucky, things like dress code policies are left up to schools' decision-making councils.

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, JCPS Superintendent Donna Hargens said she appreciated that Butler's council was having a conversation over its policy. She said district staff was reaching out to all schools' decision-making councils, "encouraging" them to review their dress code policies.

"We will provide guidance to our schools to ensure their policies are not obtrusive, do not conflict with board policy and most importantly do not infringe on the many cultures embraced across our school district," Hargens said in the statement.

A review of some schools' past dress code policies shows that Butler is not alone in prohibiting certain hairstyles. For instance, the 2014-15 student handbook for Male High – another Traditional school – notes in one bullet point that "males may not wear braids or dreadlocks."

But some JCPS schools don't even address the issue of hair in their dress code policies.

Brad Hughes, spokesman for the Kentucky School Boards Association, said there is no central repository of all schools' SBDM policies around the state, so it is unclear how common it is to have policies related to students' hair.

Hughes said there have been some issues in the past related to dress codes, particularly in instances where two schools in the same district have differing amounts of flexibility in their codes, but he doesn't recall any specific hair-related issues in Kentucky.

He pointed to a story that made national news this past spring about a teen in Louisiana who was not allowed to graduate because his beard violated district policy.

JCPS spokeswoman Jennifer Brislin said that Butler's dress code policy has been in place for years, although she could not say Thursday when it was put in place.

However, a review of the school's 2014-15 dress code policy and the one for the 2016-17 school year showed some wording differences.

Notably, a sentence was added that "all dress codes are at the discretion of the administration." Another sentence was added stating specifically that "NO dreadlocks, corn rolls (sic), twists, mohawks, no jewelry will be worn in the hair."

"The policy last year was not as strict or as spelled out in a way that intentionally called out these hairstyles that can be attributed to black students," Scott said.

JCPS' traditional schools are known for having more strict guidelines when it comes to student conduct.

Both versions of Butler's handbook note that "we feel that students' academic success is directly correlated to appropriate attire and appearance" and also state that "when you don't follow this code, it tells us you don't want to be at Butler."

Students who fail to follow the school's dress code are placed on in-school suspension until a parent brings more appropriate attire, according to the handbook. It saYS that "continual disciplinary problems concerning dress code will result in a recommendation for release from the traditional program and a transfer to a more appropriate placement."

Ashanti, 15, said she felt "disrespected" looking at the wording handed to her this week on the school's dress code. She said the document, which specifies that "hair must be clean and neat at all times," felt like a dig at her chosen hairstyles that she'd worn to classes all last school year.

"I shouldn't feel like my hair is against the rules," she said.

When asked, Brislin said that school-based decision-making councils do not set dress codes for teachers and other school staff. There is no district-level dress code policy for school staff, she said.

Attica Scott said that perhaps it is time to revisit the concept of SBDMs in Kentucky, questioning in part whether having different schools coming up with their own policies like these can be divisive and could open the door to problematic policy differences.

"For JCPS ... to really push this off on Butler is unacceptable to me as a parent," Scott said.

In 2014, the U.S. military rolled back restrictions on certain hairstyles popular among black members in its ranks, deciding to include styles such as dreadlocks or twists among authorized hairstyles. The decision to roll back those restrictions came after community backlash against the policies, including in a "Daily Show" bit dubbed "Operation Black Hair."

Hair-related rules in Butler High's dress code:

• Hair must be clean and neat with a tapered side/back and at a reasonable length.

• Hair styles that are extreme, distracting or attention-getting will not be permitted. This includes unnatural hair colors or obvious intentions to draw attention to oneself.

• Males may not dye, tint or highlight their hair.

• Reasonable length for males means hair no longer than the top of the shirt collar, above the eyebrows and afros no more than 2 inches in length.

• There must be no designs, names or lines cut into the hair and no tails or buns on males.

• No dreadlocks, cornrows, twists, mohawks, no jewelry will be worn in the hair.

• One straight line is permissible to be cut into the hair for a part. No braids will be allowed on males.

• No facial hair (except mustaches or goatees) is allowed. Sideburns may not extend past bottom of ear lobe.