Mother sues Catholic school after son was told he couldn’t wear braids
Family says that the school violated New York City and state's Human Rights laws and their 8-year-old still feels embarrassed
The mother of an 8-year-old boy filed a lawsuit against a New York Catholic school this week for refusing to allow the third-grader to wear his hair in braids.
The mother of an 8-year-old boy filed a lawsuit against a New York Catholic school this week for refusing to allow the third-grader to wear his hair in braids.
Lavona Batts is suing Immaculate Conception Catholic Academy in Queens for allegedly discriminating against her son. Batts, who is referred to as J.B., says that he was told by school officials that his hair was “unacceptable” and was given a week to change his style. Batts said this violates New York City and State Human Rights Law, according to NBC 4 New York.
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On the first day at his new school, Batts said J.B.’s grandmother, Joan, picked him up, only to find her grandson standing beside the school principal and other school officials.
Batts alleges that the principal told Joan: “We don’t accept this,” while rubbing his hand through J.B.’s head. She said the principal told Joan the braided style was against school policy and that they had until Sept. 9 to change up the style, NBC 4 reported.
Batts said she tried to resolve the issue by contacting the principal several times, but was told he was busy. She said the ordeal left J.B. feeling embarrassed and stressed out since he didn’t want to remove his braids. She subsequently took J.B. out of the Catholic school and enrolled him in public school.
Still, Batts decided not to let the incident fly. In her lawsuit, she points out that she spent $275 to register J.B. in the private school and an additional $250 on school uniforms.
Earlier this year, the New York City Commission on Human Rights released an anti-discrimination guidance stating that New Yorkers have the right to “maintain natural hair or hairstyles that are closely associated with their racial, ethnic or cultural identities.” And in July, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law making it illegal to discriminate against a person’s natural hair in both workplaces and schools, NBC 4 reported.
