Texas teenager goes viral, starts petition after school says she can’t have dyed hair

Isabelle Warby is a junior at Bastrop High School in Texas and although most days she’s just your average teenager, this week she’s become an internet sensation.

The 16-year-old Bastrop, Texas student went viral earlier this week on Twitter and Facebook after she posted a picture of herself holding a sign that read “I am being denied an education because of the colour of my hair”.

Warby told 570 news that she dyed her hair purple before the school year started because she didn’t think it would be an issue. However, when she got to school, she was told she could not attend regular classes with her peers while her hair was dyed and that she would not be allowed to receive a student ID card.

“The assistant principal very kindly told me that I would have to talk to the school board about why my hair wasn’t appropriate. A representative from the board told me that it was because my hair was a distraction for other students and unprofessional.”

Warby was told that if she returned to school with the purple dye in hair, she would be given an in-school suspension every day until it was removed.

She says her parents have been very supportive and that it was her mom’s idea to share the post on social media. Warby’s post has already been shared by over 33,000 people worldwide.

“It’s just incredible that the post has gotten this much attention. I honestly can’t believe it,” said Warby.

The organization Support Tattoos and Piercings At Work (STAPAW) has already gotten behind Warby and even helped her start an online petition. Within the first 24 hours of posting the petition, she received over 100 signatures. Warby says that all this positive feedback definitely outweighs the negativity she initially felt.

She said STAPAW told her that if her petition works, they will take the initiative across the country to change similar policies at other school boards.

Although Warby will continue to acquire signatures, she has had to remove the dye from her hair so she could continue with her regular studies.

She says both of her parents agree that the school’s decision in unjust, but they feel it’ll be easier for her to fight this battle while she is still in school.

You can see and sign Isabelle’s petition by clicking here, and check out her full-post below.

“I am being denied an education because of my hair color.

Dear friends and family,
I went into school today to try and take my ID picture. I was denied because of the color of my hair. I was very politely directed by Ms. Schulke to talk to the school board. Upon calling the school board and asking why colored hair, piercings, and tattoos are banned, their response was that it was a ‘distraction’. There have been several studies to show that it is in no way a distraction. The woman on the phone then went on to ramble about how places of profession do not allow it. I then asked her why my place of work, an establishment of professionalism, where I am PAID to be there allowed it, but my school, where I am forced to be there did not. She then contradicted herself and told me that she was not talking about my places of recreation. My work is not a place of recreation. I do not spend my free time there. The woman on the phone told me that if I showed up to school on Monday with purple hair that I was going to be placed in ISS, even after I explained to her that I can not dye my hair for several weeks, or else it will be ruined. She insisted that I dye it back. I told her that if anybody placed me in ISS because of the color of my hair, then I was going to drop out of the school district and take them to court.
So I am asking each and every one of you to please share this post, or the picture in my next post, to help support me. I would greatly appreciate it. There will be a petition to sign soon.
-Isabelle”