To wonder how a school could get this so wrong

[Hingeandbracket]

And not admit it.
www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/newsbeat-45521094
I am not quick to shout racist but this seems pretty clear cut.

I feel like the school should watch and learn . The irony of this Oscar and this school event is not lost on me!

edition.cnn.com/2020/02/09/entertainment/hair-love-academy-award/index.html

I was shocked when I read this too - utterly ludicrous.

But some headteachers just won't be told.

I assume it was an academy because otherwise the local authority would have got involved? Or were they ignored too?

Her afro doesn't look that big! I think the disapproval of her natural hair by the school and its handling of the situation does come across as racist.
Her hair is big, but not that big, a little untidy perhaps but natural. I see far more messy hairstyles whenever i pass a group of (usually white) teenage schoolkids. Meh.
And in her school ID photo I wouldn't say her hair is untidy at all. Moreover, it doesn't look long enough to tie back effectively.
She looks like a lovely, natural teenager. More power to her.

If putting her hair back regularly would have been likely to cause damage, I can see why she wasnt willing to risk that. Her hair didnt look messy or unkempt, so I dont understand why the school felt the need to make such a big deal about her hair being down. A taller pupil could have sat behind her if witness actually an issue, and not just something made up to "justify" their sending her home.

*if it was. I don't know where witness came from!

I saw this on BBC breakfast today and was shocked. I wish she had worn it out for the interview though, rather than in a tight bun, I felt it took away from her point. Good for her and her parents to challenge the school on it.

"Ruby's school used her year seven picture, when her hair was straight, in her year 11 yearbook"

WTF!!!

Northernpatent68, school rules aren't handed down on stone tablets from a mountain; they're formulated by particular people in a specific context. If school rules are worded, intentionally or unintentionally, in a way that disadvantages particular children or groups of children because of particular physical characteristics like the way their hair grows, the rules need to change, not the children.
A class might contain an unusually tall child - most classes do - but the teacher copes with visibility problems by arranging seating appropriately, not by sending the child home to be lopped. The same can be done for the child with afro hair, who easily be seated where nobody will be left craning to see past them to the board, or more likely screen, these days. She wouldn't even have had to sit at the back all the time.

The rules or the interpretation of those rules seems to have been racist, as evidenced by the out of court settlement, which protected the school from exposure and publicity.

What a silly mess. Much better to have adapted and applied the rules sensibly in the first place!

According to the article, the school said it was blocking other people's view of the board

What bollocks. Would they also order the tall, burly boys to lose weight because they're blocking the view of the board?

YANBU op, it was obviously racist and I cannot believe they didn’t settle that before it became public. I can understand not admitting liability (what school is going to want to admit that?), but to have allowed it to continue as long as it did was outrageous.

Bloody hell. What a ridiculous rule. I can't believe they didn't back down!

I don’t think it’s discriminatory to say that hair of a certain length must be neatly tied back.

But her hair at the relevant time wasn't that long. The school's issue seems to have been that it was frizzy and therefore sticking out. I'm sure they wouldn't require a Caucasion child with medium length hair to tie it back.

I feel sorry for the school, £8,500 for any school/LA to cough up is a lot and could have been spent on other more well-meaning stuff like textbooks....

Oh, dear. If only there was an easy way they could have avoided that expense. Like not being racist.

The school had rules and they apply to everyone

Rules that contravene the Equality Act 2010 don't apply to anyone. Maybe the school should have thought about sticking to the rules imposed by that Act?

In today’s society, we are supposed to be breaking down the barriers, not discriminating against someone, who has to spend hours every day caring for her hair.
^This. I was at school in the 60s and 70s - Black kids had hair like this. Of course there was (sadly) casual racism - but it wasn't in the form of stupid school rules about their hair. I thought we'd actually moved on, and as a PP observed, this took place in the marvellous culturally rich diverse city that we're all encouraged to regard as a beacon of tolerance and fairness.

Is it racist? bearing in mind most schools have strict rules on hair styles anyway?

Well, yes. The rule was expressly direct at afro style hair. Unsurprisingly, the percentage of white European children with afro hair is way lower than the percentage of children of black heritage.

When I started teaching in the 70s a lot of black kids - boys and girls - had Afro styles. Somehow we managed.

Why not just move her back?

According to the article, the school said it was blocking other people's view of the board

Jesus. This is why Tracy Turnblad gets sent to special education (where she becomes friends with the black kids, who introduce her to Motormouth Mabel, who encourages her to protest segregation and help bring civil rights to Baltimore).

Did this school learn nothing from Hairspray?

School were a bit deranged. Why not send the fat kids home for blocking the view?

Appears the rule they applied, and particularly its 'reasoning', is senseless. To be honest, when a whole set of rules is as half-witted as this, the issue is stupidity not racism.

Poor girl.

Her hair is really not so big you can't see over it - how ridiculous! I was at school in the 1970s when lots of black boys in school had massive afros - way bigger than hers! I don't remember anyone complaining they couldn't see the board

Did this school learn nothing from Hairspray?

I have straight blond hair which I have worn in a pony tail for about 40 years at work and my hairline has definitely receded despite tying it very losely so I can imagine what hers is doing.
And whilst I think the school is a dick for the way they have handled this NHS staff are not allowed to come to work with loose afro hair if it's really big hair due to close proximity work with patients.
They nearly all have it braided, straightened or otherwise contained.

My youngest has beautiful, but extremely curly hair and I have to be so careful that I don’t damage it or get a hair band tangled in it, when I tie it back. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to tie that young girl’s hair back, without damaging it or hurting her. I’m actually embarrassed for the school, because not one of those people telling her that her hair was unacceptable had the wit to actually do a five minute research online, to see if hair of that texture was difficult or impossible to put into, what they consider an ‘acceptable’ style for school. I’m usually a stickler for school uniform rules, but this is completely different and unacceptable. I’m glad she didn’t back down and I hope that all schools see sense when it comes to students that prefer to keep their natural look. I think her hair is amazing and I’m glad she’s embracing her natural look.

The way it was worded was indirect discrimination. Someone has fucked up and I'm really surprised that the school allowed this to continue as it did.

I have black female friends from across Africa and none of them has hair damage from braiding etc. Some crop their hair short so they can easily wear wigs. They braid their daughters hair from a few months old.

The hairstyle that you see in the picture, which got the girl sent home, wouldn't be allowed in a school in Africa.

The Staff, especially the Head need to update their training.