North Texas mom vows to defy school board ban on 4-year-old son’s long locks

Texas school board tweaks but keeps longhair ban

MESQUITE, Texas — A Texas school board is adjusting its grooming policy after a 4-year-old boy’s long, flowing hair got him suspended. But his parents say it isn’t enough.

Pre-kindergartner Taylor Pugh has been under in-school suspension since November at Floyd Elementary School in Balch Springs near Dallas. He sits alone with a teacher’s aid in the school library.

After a closed-door meeting Monday, the Mesquite school board decided Taylor could wear his hair braided but keep it no longer than his ears.

Taylor’s mother, Elizabeth, says her son likes his hair long and braiding it would make his scalp bleed. She plans to keep fighting the ban.

She says she’ll take Taylor to school in a ponytail Tuesday, acknowledging it will keep him suspended.