Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Louisiana

Re: Warned of hair dye

That is a question many courts cannot agree on. It is a thorny issue, pitting state interests against personal freedoms.

First, we must assume that your school is a public school. If it is a private school, all bets are off and they can make you wear your hair however they please for the most part. Private and parochial schools are not state actors and they have no duty to protect your right to free expression.

In public schools, grooming regulations governing students' personal appearances are valid where reasonable and where rationally related to or justified by a need to maintain school decorum or prevent undue distractions which might interfere with the educational process. So, in general, the school may have a right to say that your hair must be a natural color, as it would create too much of a distraction to education otherwise. Similar rules outlawing boys' earrings, blue jeans, hairstyles, etc., have been upheld.

However, if that reason is shown to be false, you may have grounds to fight. For example, let's say a teacher has the same hair color as you and he or she was not reprimanded. The "distraction" argument sort of falls away at that point. Then, you have a case.

Good luck.