Legal Statement. The employees involved have acknowledged their wrong actions and apologised.. Please enter valid email address to continue. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Did they really do an investigation?. In thelawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Grand Rapids against Mount Pleasant Public Schools, Jimmy Hoffmeyer alleges his biracial daughter's constitutional rights were violated. "We've had to take her to the doctor because she hasn't been eating. Hoffmeyer Said Jurnee Was Crying & Afraid of Getting in Trouble After the Teacher Cut Her Hair Hoffmeyer said in an interview with the Associated Press that The Associated Press contributed to this report. The teacher was arrested after forcibly cutting off the hair of a student. District administrators also performed an internal review of the incident. It is unclear what will happen to her, but many are calling for her to be fired. The barber arrived with his mobile barber shop to fix the boys hair. The board ruled to place Mogg on a last chance employment agreement, during which time any future violations will likely result in termination. Superintendent Jennifer Verleger recommended the discipline and was supported by the board. Now it's like it's just gone.". Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. If a teacher cuts a students hair without permission, it could be considered assault and the teacher could be fired. Jurnee, seen here at age 7, is biracial. The district did not immediately respond to phone calls or emails asking who conducted the investigation and whether they contacted the Hoffmeyer family. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Grand Rapids against Mount Pleasant Public Schools, MLive.com reported. Jurnee Hoffmeyer arrived home from Ganiard Elementary in Mount Pleasant with hair missing just before spring break, her father, Jimmy, said in April. Because their class 11th-B will be taking the next board examination, students are advised to keep their long hair at home. In the spirit of transparency, we are presenting the key findings from this investigation and resulting discipline as recommended by Superintendent Jennifer Verleger with support from the school board. He said two days later a teacher cut Jurnee's hair to even it out. The teacher was immediately suspended and is currently under investigation. Two other employees were aware of the incident but didnt report it. The Mount Pleasant School Districts superintendent dismissed the allegations as an example of misinformation. Powered and implemented by FactSet. The reprimands were to go in the employees files. As your Board of Education, we are committed to ensuring our schools are safe and welcoming for all our students. / MoneyWatch. Ingham County on March 23 passed a resolution to become the first county in the state to ban hair discrimination against public employees. So embarrassed. The best degree for an elementary school teacher is a bachelors degree in elementary education. After a fellow student cut her head off on the bus on March 24, she returned home with one side of her head cropped open. On March 24, Jurnee arrived home from Ganiard Elementary with much of the hair on one side cut. Jurnees mother is white. In July, the Mount Pleasant school boardsaidthe staffer who had cut Jurnee's hair had been reprimanded. That librarian is now a named defendant in a $1 million civil rights lawsuit filed by the girls father. Jimmy Hoffmeyer of Michigan filed the case on behalf of his daughter Jurnee Hoffmeyer. The lawsuit claims that the librarian, along with the school district and a teachers assistant, violated Jurnees civil rights. Verified account Protected Tweets @; Suggested users The acts name is a backronym for Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. States including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington have adopted the Crown Act as law. The students family is now demanding answers from the school district. "We will aggressively defend against these baseless allegations in court and will not allow this to distract us from our mission to provide every child a world-class education that prepares them for college and careers.". Technicians are currently working on the problem. As your Board, we have made every effort to address this matter with the seriousness and care it deserves and with the transparency our community expects, the board said. She was afraid of getting in trouble for getting her hair cut., I asked what happened and said I thought I told you no child should ever cut your hair, he continued. Now, the Mount Pleasant Public Schools board said its seen the results of both an internal and an external investigation. There is no evidence of a racially discriminatory intent, purpose, or motive, or evidence that Plaintiff was denied full and equal enjoyment of goods and services, attorney Piper wrote. As the girls father claims, Ms. Moggs,urnees library teacher, cut off her hair with the assistance of Ms. Jacobs, the schools teachers assistant. A Michigan father has moved his 7-year-old biracial daughter from one school to another after the child's hair was cut on separate occasions by a classmate and a teacher. As your board, we have made every effort to address this matter with the seriousness and care it deserves and with the transparency our community expects.. The barber trimmed Jurnees hair for free and said further work would be done to even out the hair once more grew in. The librarian who cut Jurnee Hoffmeyers hair was reprimanded by the Board of Education, who agreed to place her on a last chance agreement, in which she would almost certainly be fired if she violates it again in the future. 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint. Two days after the bus incident and after complaining to the principal and having Jurnees hair styled at a salon with an asymmetrical cut to make the differing lengths less obvious Jurnee arrived home with the hair on the other side cut. We are confident that the facts will prevail given our districts appropriate and aggressive response to the incident and the findings of the third-party investigation that was conducted, Bond said in a statement. She's having trouble sleeping now and always wants to be with us," Hoffmeyer told the Black Wall Street Times, which states Jurnee is in first grade. The father said he found the explanations he has received from the school principal and the Mount Pleasant Public Schools District disappointing. "She kept asking me what she could do to make it go away.". He said he was told the school would talk to the parents of the classmate involved in the first haircut and that a note would be placed in the teacher's work file. According to the complaint4, Jurnees school has long hair regulations, but it is not clear what those regulations are; however, it is likely that the school has implemented a policy to prevent excessive hair growth. About 4 percent of Mount Pleasants 25,000 residents are Black, according to the U.S. Census. The father of a 7-year-old Michigan girl whose hair was cut by a teacher without her parents permission has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the school district, a librarian and a teachers assistant. According to Hoffmeyer, her library teacher, Ms. Moggs, assisted and/or agreed with another teachers assistant, Ms. Jacobs, who allegedly cut Jurnees hair with scissors. Jurnee was removed from the school by her father and now attends classes elsewhere. This undated photo provided by Jimmy Hoffmeyer shows his daughter Jurnee Hoffmeyer, 7, after a classmate and a teacher cut her hair on separate occasions. Jimmy Hoffmeyer / AP. The staffer was accused of performing a modern-day scalping by a parents group, but school district officials in Michigan announced that after a third-party investigation into the incident, the librarian did not act with racial bias and therefore will keep her job. She told her father, Jimmy Hoffmeyer that another student had cut her hair on the school bus with scissors taken from the classroom. Jimmy Hoffmeyer said his biracial daughter came home on March 24 with much of the hair on one side cut after another child grabbed on a pair of scissors. Our main purpose with the independent investigation has been to bring the facts to light, learn from this incident and make our district even stronger. Now, Hoffmeyer is suing both Ganiard Elementary teachers along with their school district for $1 million, according to the lawsuit filed in a federal court in Michigan. We believe a last chance agreement is appropriate given that the employee has an outstanding record of conduct and has never once been reprimanded in more than 20 years of work at MPPS. Who do you think cut Jurnees hair? Verleger wrote that Jurnee had asked a fellow student to cut her hair at school. Investigation Finds No Evidence Of Racial Bias In Jurnee Hoffmeyer said the explanations he has received from the principal and the district have done little to appease him. The bill would establish legal protections for Black people against discrimination due to hair color. The school district where a staff member cut the curly hair of a biracial 7-year-old student this spring said Friday that an independent, third-party investigation found no evidence the incident was motivated by racial bias.. Jurnee Hoffmeyer, 7, after a classmate and a teacher cut her hair on separate occasions. Cutting a students hair on school grounds either with or without parent permission is a clear violation of school policy. Other schools have drawn unwanted attention for policing the hairstyles of students of color. Hoffmeyer told the Associated Press Jurnee came home from school March 24 with most of the hair on one side of her head cut. The girl told her dad another student cut her hair with scissors on the bus. Hoffmeyer filed a complaint with the principal and had his daughters hair styled at a salon to even out the differing lengths. I can assure you that the independent, third-party investigation was conducted without the perspective or conversation of the family who was harmed.. The union has called on the school to issue a formal apology to the family "for violating their rights and cutting Jurnee's hair without parental advisement or consent" and "formal consequences to the educators and staff who decided to act without parental permission, guidance or consent.". The key takeaways in both reviews are consistent. Read more:Department of Civil Rights deeply concerned about Mount Pleasant girls haircut by school stafferMichigan school district says girl, 7, asked to have her hair cutMichigan girls haircut by school staffer modern-day scalping, says National Parents Union. 7-year-old Michigan girl whose hair was cut by a teacher, the Mount Pleasant Public Schools Board of Education said, Mom objects when 4-year-old son not allowed to wear braids at school, Many Ethnicities founder creates products for different hair types and textures. We will aggressively defend against these baseless allegations in court and will not allow this to distract us from our mission to provide every child a world-class education that prepares them for college and careers.. The investigation included interviews with district personnel, students and families, as well as a review of video and photos, including posts on social media, the district said. 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