The father of a 7-year-old Michigan girl whose hair was cut in school without her parents' consent has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the school district, a librarian and a teacher's assistant. Parents are upset that they were not informed about the incident and that they are eager for more information. In a statement released late Tuesday, District Superintendent Jennifer Verleger confirmed Hoffmeyers story, adding the childs teacher was aware of the library employees plan to cut the students hair. Have something to tell us about this article? The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Grand Rapids against Mount Pleasant Public Schools, MLive.com reported. A father in Michigan has transferred his biracial 7-year-old daughter to another school after a classmate and a school employee cut his child's curls. Two other employees were aware of the incident but didnt report it. The school board said the independent investigation found no racial bias and included interviews with district personnel, students and families and a review of video and photos, including posts on social media. The library employee cut Jurnees hair on March 26, without obtaining permission from the Jurnees parents or consulting with school administrators. The key takeaways in both reviews are consistent, the board stated. Pleasant Public Schools, we strive each day to ensure our students can learn and achieve in an inclusive, safe environment free from harassment, discrimination, bigotry or intolerance. "She was crying. Jurnee was removed from the school by her father and now attends classes elsewhere. To achieve our mission of providing a world-class education to all MPPS students, we must continuously strive to improve and acknowledge when we have not lived up to our own high standards. September 17, 2021 / 6:05 PM In July, the Mount Pleasant Public Schools Board of Education said the staffer who cut Jurnees hair was reprimanded and an independent third-party investigation determined that despite good intentions of the worker who cut the girls hair, doing so without permission from her parents and without the knowledge of district administrators violated school policy. Im not one to try to make things about race, he said. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. There is no evidence that Defendants actions shocks the conscience and did not result in an injury so severe so as to constitute a substantive due process violation under the Fourteenth Amendment.. Hoffmeyer said he received a call from the districts superintendent about a week later after the schools spring break. She offered to have Im sorry cards mailed to the family, he said. Ingham County on March 23 passed a resolution to become the first county in the state to ban hair discrimination against public employees. The district did not immediately respond to phone calls or emails asking who conducted the investigation and whether they contacted the Hoffmeyer family. Father sues school district for $1 million after staff cut daughters hair, tweeted another. "I've pretty much grown up with only white people, myself. The staffer was accused of performing a modern-day scalping by a parents group, but school district officials in Michigan announced that after a third-party investigation into the incident, the librarian did not act with racial bias and therefore will keep her job. Jimmy Hoffmeyer said Monday he also is considering taking his daughter, Jurnee, out of Mount Pleasant Public Schools and enrolling her in a private school. Who do you think cut Jurnees hair? A white employee and white administrators being investigated by a nearly all-white school board who hired an unknown independent investigator is not an appropriate lens by which to evaluate this situation. Hoffmeyer says the classmate and the teacher are white. The father of a seven-year-old girl named Jurnee Hoffmeyer is filing a $1 million lawsuit against her previous school over her haircut, which was done without permission. In July, the Mount Pleasant school boardsaidthe staffer who had cut Jurnee's hair had been reprimanded. WebMichigan school district says girl, 7, asked to have her hair cut. The student was horrified and ran out of the classroom in tears. Jurnee, seen here at age 7, is biracial. Jimmy Hoffmeyer in September 2021 filed his federal lawsuit on behalf of his daughter Jurnee Hoffmeyer. Jimmy Hoffmeyer on Tuesday, Sept. 14, filed his federal lawsuit on behalf of daughter Jurnee Hoffmeyer in the Western District of Michigan. This usually includes guidelines about appropriate hair styles. IE 11 is not supported. According to the complaint4, Jurnees school has long hair regulations, but it is not clear what those regulations are; however, it is likely that the school has implemented a policy to prevent excessive hair growth. Rutgers is dedicated to teaching, research, and public service, and its mission. She's having trouble sleeping now and always wants to be with us," Hoffmeyer told the Black Wall Street Times, which states Jurnee is in first grade. Because of this, the distinction between military schools and army students is known as their distinctiveness and uniqueness.. Superintendent Verleger has also personally apologized to the family on behalf of the school district. Defendants involved in Massachusetts standoff in court, 911 callers urge help for hockey player killed by fireworks, Lawsuit: Man who sparked treasure hunt retrieved own loot, Chicago police chief, U.S. attorney resign after Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection. We truly appreciate the support and patience by our students, staff and families while an independent, third-party investigation was conducted regarding an incident at Ganiard Elementary School. The teacher cut her hair to even it out.". The investigation included interviews with district personnel, students and families, as well as a review of video and photos, including posts on social media, the district said. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. On March 24, Jurnee arrived home from Ganiard Elementary with much of the hair on one side cut. Two days later, Jurnee returned home a second time with nearly all her hair cut off down to a few inches from her scalp. Legal Statement. Jurnee Hoffmeyer. Jimmy Hoffmeyer / AP MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. The father of a 7-year-old Michigan girl whose hair was cut by a teacher without her parents permission has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the school district, a librarian and a teachers assistant. A Michigan father has moved his 7-year-old biracial daughter from one school to another after the child's hair was cut on separate occasions by a classmate and a teacher. Mount Pleasant is about 150 miles (241 kilometers) northwest of Detroit. There is no evidence of a racially discriminatory intent, purpose, or motive, or evidence that Plaintiff was denied full and equal enjoyment of goods and services, attorney Piper wrote. News provided by The Associated Press. Verleger wrote that Jurnee had asked a fellow student to cut her hair at school. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. She was afraid of getting in trouble for getting her hair cut., I asked what happened and said I thought I told you no child should ever cut your hair. Hoffmeyer said he filed an incident report with the Mount Pleasant police, but as of Monday no officer had contacted him to follow up on the complaint. The father of three young daughters says he has taken Jurnee out of the school and is considering enrolling her in a private school. Professional development will also be a key part of learning from this experience and improving as a district. Mount Pleasant Public Schools full statement is below: At Mt. Two days later, Jurnee returned home a second time with nearly all her hair cut off down to a few inches from her scalp. But the district did not say who performed the independent investigation, and Laster said neither Jurnee nor her parents had been contacted by independent investigators. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Now it's like it's just gone.". "https://t.co/0fXblhhfRR, In other news, Mean Lori Lightfoot Beetlejuice memes go viral as Chicago mayor concedes, The Official Hollyoaks Autumn Trailer | Hollyoaks, https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rDJrPqz4Kuk/hqdefault.jpg. In a fit of anger, she grabbed the students hair and cut it off. Market data provided by ICE Data Services. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Laster said failing to speak with the Hoffmeyer family means investigators have an incomplete picture of what motivated the haircut and how it affected Jurnee. She was crying, Hoffmeyer said. The school district where a staff member cut the curly hair of a biracial 7-year-old student this spring said Friday that an independent, third-party investigation found no evidence the incident was motivated by racial bias.. Ive pretty much grown up with only white people, myself.. The haircutting was done without permission from the students parents or consulting with school administrators. 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. I asked what happened and said I thought I told you no child should ever cut your hair, Hoffmeyer said at the time. She said a classmate used scissors to cut her hair on the school bus, Hoffmeyer told The Associated Press. That librarian is now a named defendant in a $1 million civil rights lawsuit filed by the girls father. Jimmy Hoffmeyer of Michigan filed the case on behalf of his daughter Jurnee Hoffmeyer. The lawsuit claims that the librarian, along with the school district and a teachers assistant, violated Jurnees civil rights. The short hair required by schools in India is an attempt to give students a proper dress code and a proper hairstyle. WNEM Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. 7-year-old Michigan girl whose hair was cut by a teacher, the Mount Pleasant Public Schools Board of Education said, Mom objects when 4-year-old son not allowed to wear braids at school, Many Ethnicities founder creates products for different hair types and textures. Jurnee Hoffmeyer, who is biracial, is pictured before the unapproved haircuts took place. She said 'but dad, it was the teacher.' The bill would establish legal protections for Black people against discrimination due to hair color. We believe a last-chance agreement is appropriate given that the employee has an outstanding record of conduct and has never once been reprimanded in more than 20 years of work at Mount Pleasant Public Schools, the board said. Jimmy Hoffmeyer, a father in Michigan, is suing the school district in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, because a school employee cut his daughter's hair. Jurnee Hoffmeyer on March 24 arrived home from Ganiard Elementary School, 101 S. Adams St., with the hair on one The teacher has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is being investigated. I would of lost my freaking mind. Furthermore, the schools hair regulations may be in violation of the students equal protection rights because they may be based on a personal preference (such as the students hair length) rather than a legitimate educational interest. MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. The father of a 7-year-old Michigan girl whose hair was cut by a teacher without her parents permission has filed a $1 million The teacher had been cutting the boys hair without permission from his parents. The librarian has been placed on a last chance employment notice and will be dismissed if there is any future infraction. The Mount Pleasant School Districts superintendent dismissed the allegations as an example of misinformation. A couple of weeks ago, Jurnee Hoffmeyer got her hair cut by another student on the bus home from school, her father, Jimmy, says.It didnt look, arrived home from Ganiard Elementary in Mount Pleasant with hair missing, Free legal representation now available for many Detroiters facing eviction, MSU announces new security measures, plan for external review of response to mass shooting on campus, Michigan Senate advances repeal of 1931 abortion ban though the ban is already unenforceable, Michigan Senate passes Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act expansion to add LGBTQ rights, Former Burton police officer charged with hate crime, Mount Pleasant family says daughters haircut by school staff exposes racial bias. Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering business, consumer and financial stories that range from economic inequality and housing issues to bankruptcies and the business of sports. A white elementary school librarian who cut the hair of a biracial girl will be allowed to keep her job despite an outcry over the incident. Investigation Finds No Evidence Of Racial Bias In Jurnee "She kept asking me what she could do to make it go away.". Jimmy Hoffmeyer seeks $1 million from Mount Pleasant Public Schools, alleging it violated his biracial daughters constitutional rights. The key findings of the third-party investigation are: The third-party investigation is in addition to a thorough internal review conducted by district administration, including conducting interviews, reviewing videotaped and photographic evidence, consistent with the laws and district policies and procedures. Regardless, their decisions and actions are unacceptable and show a major lack of judgement. Two other employees were aware of the incident but did not report it and have been officially reprimanded. 6 Amazon travel essentials for your next getaway, starting at $12. Nonetheless, their actions were unacceptable and showed a major lack of judgement, the district said. Here's why. Technicians are currently working on the problem. She was afraid of getting in trouble for getting her hair cut. It was a normal day at school when the teacher walked into the classroom and saw one of her students with a haircut that she didnt like. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. People can still act on racial bias even with the best intentions, Laster said. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Who did they talk to? Mr Hoffmeyer asked on Friday when the results of the investigation were announced. In thelawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Grand Rapids against Mount Pleasant Public Schools, Jimmy Hoffmeyer alleges his biracial daughter's constitutional rights were violated. As a result of the incident and the third-party investigation, our school policies have been clarified to help ensure incidents like this do not happen again. The board added that the third-party inquiry was performed in addition to an internal review by the school districts administration. This undated photo provided by Jimmy Hoffmeyer shows his daughter Jurnee Hoffmeyer, 7, after a classmate and a teacher cut her hair on separate occasions. She said but dad, it was the teacher. The teacher cut her hair to even it out, he added further., Jimmy said he informed the principal of the school, but he wasnt pleased with the explanation he got., Months later, Jurnees father is filing a $1 Million lawsuit against the school district and two staff members who were involved in cutting his daughters hair., Jimmy, who is Black, has reportedly spoken about alleged racial discrimination against his daughter in the lawsuit., According to MLive.com, the lawsuit states that the district failed to properly train, monitor, direct, discipline, and supervise their employees and knew or should have known that the employees would engage in the complained-of behavior given the improper training, customs, procedures, and policies, and the lack of discipline that existed for employees., However, an investigation by the school district in July concluded that the teacher had not acted with racial bias, according to BBC.. A teacher who cut a students hair is a very bad teacher. The parent of Jurnee Hoffmeyer, a 7-year-old girl whose hair was cut by a school librarian, has sued the Michigan school district for $1 million. Verified account Protected Tweets @; Suggested users "She said, 'But Dad, it was the teacher.' The father of a 7-year-old Michigan girl whose hair was cut by a teacher without her parents' permission has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the school district, a librarian and a teacher's assistant. On a related note, the Michigan House of Representatives in March 2022 passed the CROWN Act in a 235-189 vote to prohibit race-based hair discrimination. Our main purpose with the independent investigation has been to bring the facts to light, learn from this incident and make our district even stronger, the board wrote. Jurnee Hoffmeyer arrived home from Ganiard Elementary in Mount Pleasant with hair missing just before spring break, her father, Jimmy, said in April. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. She kept asking me what she could do to make it go away.. Jurnees mother is white. Mr Hoffmeyer is Black and white, and Jurnees mother is white. Hoffmeyer is working with the National Parents Union, a national network of parent organizations and activists that advocate to improve the quality of life for children. The board added that the third-party inquiry was performed in addition to an internal review by the school districts administration. So embarrassed. Margaret Gieszinger, a 53-year-old science and chemistry teacher, was arrested on Wednesday in Santa Clara. Hoffmeyer said the girl who cut Jurnees hair and the teacher who cut it are white. This is a complete abuse of power. As a result of the districts investigation, the employee who cut the students hair will be placed on a last chance agreement during which time any future violations will likely result in termination. And she said not identifying racial bias as a factor that contributed to the haircut means the district is missing chances to stamp out racism. The district is located about 150 miles (241 kilometers) northwest of Detroit. Paragliders record never-before-seen footage of world's second-tallest mountain, Elizabeth Holmes has 2nd child as prison sentence looms, Dozens of sharks swarm fishing boat in feeding frenzy off Louisiana coast, video shows, Brunt of storm moving out of SoCal, light showers on tap Wednesday, Wake-Up Weather: AM showers then mild and breezy, Say goodbye to the iconic mail truck the postal service is electrifying its fleet, beginning with more than 9,000 new vehicles, Zero calorie sweetener linked to heart attack and stroke, study finds, USPS ordering 9,250 electric vehicles from Ford. To achieve our mission of providing a world-class education to all MPPS students, we must continuously strive to improve and acknowledge when we have not lived up to our own high standards., Father of girl, 7, who had hair cut off by school staffer files $1 million lawsuit alleging racial discrimination, Even as local efforts increase, hair discrimination is still legal in Michigan, Department of Civil Rights deeply concerned about Mount Pleasant girls haircut by school staffer, Michigan school district says girl, 7, asked to have her hair cut, Michigan girls haircut by school staffer modern-day scalping, says National Parents Union. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. Newsweek has contacted the Mount Pleasant Public Schools District, Ganiard Elementary School and Jimmy Hoffmeyer for comment. Of getting in trouble for getting her hair on the school by her father now. 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