News & Commentary

The American Civil Liberties Union condemned a southeast Kansas school district Friday for forcing an 8-year-old Native American boy to cut his long hair despite long hair being integral to his faith and culture.

The new Monday filing from the ACLU of Kansas sets the stage for a January hearing in Shawnee County District Court on a July request from Attorney General Kris Kobach for a temporary injunction to continue blocking gender marker changes.

Sharon Brett, legal director of ACLU of Kansas, argued in a 60-page document submitted to the Shawnee County District Court that Attorney General Kris Kobach’s mistaken interpretation of how a new state law applied to driver’s licenses could result in violation of rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union is demanding that a Kansas elementary school repeal a policy it says forbids boys from wearing long hair after an 8-year-old Native American student was allegedly forced to cut his or be sent home.

In a letter sent Friday, the ACLU demanded that the Girard School District rescind a policy at the elementary school that bars long hair for boys, alleging it violates state and federal laws.

A Kansas grade school forced an 8-year-old Native American boy to cut off his hair after he grew it out for cultural reasons, the American Civil Liberties Union said. In a letter sent Friday, the ACLU demanded that the Girard School District rescind the policy.

Officials at R.V. Haderlein Elementary in Girard forced an 8-year-old Native American boy to cut his hair, despite objections that he grew it out to connect with his cultural heritage. The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas warned the district of this policy's issues in a letter.

“Counting provisional ballots is an incredibly important part of ensuring that everybody has the opportunity to participate” in elections, says Sharon Brett, Legal Director of the ACLU of Kansas.

Groups that sent the letter, including the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2) and the ACLU of Kansas, asked for a meeting with DOJ officials this month or next to “make the case” for a civil rights investigation into KCK law enforcement.