Boy's Scalp Colored In With Black Sharpie At Texas School: Suit

PEARLAND, TX — The parents of a Texas student have filed a lawsuit after educators at a Pearland school said the boy violated the dress code and colored in an "M" on his scalp with black sharpie, which made the seventh grader feel degraded and embarassed, the suit says.

The boy, who is identified as J.T. in the lawsuit, was a seventh grader at Berry Miller Junior High School in Pearland when the incident occurred in April. J.T. had a "fade" haircut, which the suit says is popular among young African Americans. The design line that was a part of the haircut did not depict anything offensive, violent, gang-related or otherwise inappropriate, the lawsuit says.

At issue is whether J.T.'s civil rights were violated by school officials and whether the school district did not adequately train employees about what constituted a violation of the school dress code and how to discipline it in a racially sensitive manner. The suit also contends that the dress code as it related to hair was vague.

The suit was filed this week in federal court.

According to the lawsuit, the school's assistant principal, Tony Barcelona, told J.T. to go to the office because he was not following the dress code. Barcelona later made the boy go to the office of the discipline clerk, Helen Day.

After Day showed J.T. the dress code and said that he was violating it, the suit alleges that Barcelona gave J.T. two options: that he would be put in in-school suspension indefinitely or that the "M" on his scalp be immediately colored.

Neither Day nor Helen informed J.T. that he could appeal the punishment or contact his parents for advice, the suit says. The educators did not attempt to contact J.T.'s parents, Angela Washington and Dante Trice, who are the plaintiffs in the suit.

The suit says that since J.T. had never been in trouble before and was worried about the consequences of the suspension, he chose to have his scalp colored.

Day began coloring the boy's scalp with a black sharpie. At one point, a teacher named in the suit as Jeanette Peterson, came to the office and Day asked her to continue coloring J.T.'s scalp.

J.T. did not consent to having his scalp colored by Day or Peterson and found it highly offensive, the suit says. The lawsuit also alleges that at times, the three educators were laughing at what was happening.

"J.T. was not laughing but very frightened of these three much larger Pearland ISD employees coloring his scalp jet black," the suit says. The complaint states that no African Americans have jet black skin and notes that depicting black Americans with such a skin color is a racist stereotype.

The lawsuit names Barcelona, Day, Peterson and the Pearland Independent School District as defendants. Barcelona, Day and Peterson are all white. Barcelona is now the head principal at the school where J.T. is now an eighth grader.

Students at the school noticed J.T.'s scalp and made fun of him, including one student who called him a "thug," according to the lawsuit.

"Social media posts with memes followed which caused J.T. mental anguish," the suit says.

Since the incident, no one from Pearland ISD has apologized to J.T. or his parents and his mother's attempts to speak with the superintendent have been unsuccesful. A letter sent via certified mail by the parents' attorney to school district officials demanding a training of employees and unspecified monetary damages was not answered, according to the suit.

"Other than media reports, Pearland ISD has yet to receive notification of the lawsuit," the district said in a statement. "Upon receipt, it will be reviewed by our legal counsel. No further comment will be provided at this time."

The suit also included copies of the district's dress code before and after the incident. After the incident, the code no longer includes language that extreme hair styles like carvings, mohawks and spikes not be allowed. In reference to head coverings — which are not allowed — after the incident, the code added language to say that exceptions will be made for religious headwear.

The suit contends that J.T.'s civil rights were violated and that the district is liable because the dress code policy was unconstitutionally vague when it came to hair, causing the educators to violate J.T.'s rights. The district also failed to train employees "as to proper treatment of racial minorities," the suit says. The lawsuit also seeks compensatory damages.

"Additionally, there is a pattern and practice of racial discrimination and disparate treatment of African American students at the Pearland ISD," the suit says and cites a 2015 Department of Justice study that found that while there were twice as many white students at Pearland than African American students, the latter group were suspended 143 percent more often than white students.