Parents petition BISD for policy change

A petition was started recently to amend the Bryson ISD dress code after the parents of 4-year-old Hunter Strider were asked to cut his hair in order to comply with the district’s policy. The campaign is seeking to gain support before the next BISD school board meeting, set for Monday.

The petition, started by Hunter’s mother, Lori, has received over 140,000 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon and is rising.

“My son is a pre-k student in a small Texas school district. His first day of school was Monday, (Aug. 16). We love our school. Our daughter has been going since pre-k and she is now in third grade,” the information on the petition states.

BISD is located in Jack County within the city of Bryson which has a population of 536, according to 2019 Census population estimates. For the 2018-2019 school year, the district received a B rating from the Texas Education Agency’s A-F Accountability System used to evaluate the academic performance of Texas public schools. Districts were not rated for the 2019-2020 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to the situation with the Strider’s, BISD Superintendent, Greg London, said that due to the nature of the matter, he was unable to discuss specific details.

“As administrators, we do our best to uphold and follow the policies and procedures that are established by our board of trustees,” London said. “Our board of trustees sets the policies and procedures for how we’re going to deal with that in July. We do our best, we want all kids to be successful. We just try to follow and uphold the (…) standards and policies that are in place here, as administrators.”

While enrolling their son in school April 27, they learned that Hunter’s hair would have to be cut to fit the school’s dress code. The Strider’s made an appointment to do so on Aug. 12, the same day as the school’s Meet the Teacher event.

During the appointment, the stylist removed eight inches of hair. Lori clarified that Hunter’s hair is curly and this was measured when the hair was wet and straight.

When the Strider’s dropped their son off for the second day of school, Aug. 17, they were approached again about cutting their son’s hair, and claim they were told it had to be done by Monday.

For the full story, see the Wednesday, Aug. 25, edition of the Jacksboro Herald-Gazette.