An Oklahoma mother was astonished when her 7-year-old son Asiah returned home from school with a new look that she had not approved.
The mother, who claims the family wears long hair as part of their Native American culture, was told by school personnel that her autistic son had cut his own hair, but she argues he “would not have done this to himself.”
Continue reading to find out why this mom is so furious with the school!
On August 21, 2024, Rachelle Plumley posted a Facebook photo of her 7-year-old son Asiah, who is autistic and mostly nonverbal, sitting outside at a playground.
“His beautiful long native hair,” she captions the image of the joyful toddler. In the second image, she shows a clean-cut little boy with long hair in a single back braid, dressed for school at Frontiers Public Schools in Noble Country, Oklahoma.
“How I sent his hair to school, in a single braid,” says the 26-year-old mother, who was informed by staff that the pupils in Asiah’s special education class would be working with scissors.
Plumley was gobsmacked when she saw her child later that day.
‘In literal tears’
Asiah appears in the final image of Plumley’s August 21 post with jagged hair and bangs, a departure from his former look. “How they sent my baby home,” she complains.
Plumley shared the photos and a video on social media, expressing her disbelief at her son’s new look.
“In literal tears right now, trying to be reasonable but I cannnnottttt. My son is [seven] & only got his haircut once in his life!!! [And] this was how they sent him home from school I cannottt!!” Plumley writes on Facebook.
Then she describes how the issue worsened when school administrators “had the nerve” to advise Asiah chopped his own hair.
“But Asiah is afraid of haircuts,” she writes, adding that staff hinted that the family shouldn’t “let it grow so long.”
“He’s autistic…with THREE teachers aids, why is no one watching my f***ing kid?! the fact that it’s so straight like bangs & the back makes me think someone did it to him. I can’t stop crying and he keeps telling me it’s okay mom…like no son, it’s not.”
‘Represents strength’
Plumley spoke with Fox 8 after her post went viral and the story was picked up by various media outlets, detailing her surprise at seeing Asiah with freshly coiffed hair.
“When he walked in the door, we noticed obviously his hair was cut,” said Plumley. “A simple ‘I’m sorry,’ or even a phone call would have helped and made me feel a lot better, but still nothing has been said.”
Looking for answers, the parents called the school, where they were informed that Asiah “went behind the teacher’s desk, just took the scissors, and cut his hair.”
Plumley, on the other hand, refuses to believe it and claims that her kid is mandated to have one of three school aids with him at all times.
“Even if he did do this to himself, I feel like the school is still held accountable for not paying attention and [not] being there for my son that I’m trusting them to do every day,” she said, adding she’s thankful some of the hair is still there.
“In Native American culture, it does represent strength, and it means a lot to us and he wouldn’t have done this to himself,” said Plumley.
‘That did not happen’
Meanwhile, Frontier Public Schools Superintendent Erron Kauk responded to her complaints, denying that a staff member had given the child a trim.
“We take a lot of pride in what we do here in Frontier about our Native American heritage as well as any other heritage we have,” says Kauk, who claims to have personally investigated the incident. “But there [were] accusations that a student got their hair cut by a school employee. We took that very seriously and we checked into it and investigated. That did not happen.”
“I can’t go into detail on the student’s situation, but we did do a thorough investigation, and a school employee did not cut a student’s hair,” Kauk said.
‘Spread positivity’
Days later, Plumley posts a fresh post indicating that the school board has asked her to convey that they are nearing a settlement.
“I guess their appearance does matter…I want to be able to trust them with sending my kids back to school…I won’t apologize for speaking up for my son. I won’t apologize for being that mother,” she writes. Plumley then asks netizens to “please stop” threatening teachers: “We need to spread positivity and continue supporting my baby, WITHOUT hate.”
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