Michigan Father Furious after Biracial Daughter's Hair Was Cut By Her Teacher & Classmate

A Michigan father was furious after a library teacher and a student reportedly cut his seven-year-old biracial daughter's hair without permission on two separate occasions.

Jimmy Hoffmeyer shared that on March 24, his daughter, Jurnee, came home from school with a big chunk of her hair cut off. The girl told Hoffmeyer that one of her classmates cut her hair off while they were on the school bus.

Hoffmeyer immediately reported the incident to school officials and had her daughter visit a salon to even out her hair. On March 26, Jurnee went home crying with another cut on the other side.

Hoffmeyer, who is of biracial descent like Jurnee, told the latter she should not let anyone cut her hair, but she was scared to get in trouble. He shared what her daughter told her:

"She said 'but dad, it was the teacher.' The teacher cut her hair to even it out."

After the second incident, Michigan School District Superintendent Jennifer Verleger wrote a letter to Jurneee's parents, which addressed the two incidents involving their daughter.

In the first case, Verleger reportedly claimed Jurnee asked a classmate to cut her hair on the bus. The latter then took a pair of scissors from the teacher's desk without permission.

During the second incident, one of the girl's classmates asked a library employee to cut her hair. According to Verleger, Jurnee was unhappy and dissatisfied with how her hair looked.

The library employee, reportedly a cosmetologist, cut the girl's hair to even it out. Jurnee's teacher was aware of it too. Verleger pointed out that both the library employee and teacher's actions were unacceptable despite their good intentions.

Even though they apologized for their actions, the two school employees will still face disciplinary actions. But the school district's actions didn't sit well with Hoffmeyer, who earlier filed an incident report at the Mount Pleasant Police.

The police have yet to respond to his complaint. Although his daughter's hair was cut in school by white people, Hoffmeyer said he does not intend to think of it as an issue of race. But he is now considering moving Jurnee to a private school.

Like Jurnee's hair dilemma, two Black students in Texas were suspended for wearing their dreadlocks. Barbers Hill Independent School District found the teens' hair a violation of the school's dress code policy.

DeAndre Arnold, 18, was about to graduate from high school when his school suspended him in January 2020. His 16-year old cousin who was enrolled in the school also received the same treatment.

A school official told DeAndre he would not be able to walk at his graduation ceremony if he didn't cut his hair. Their parents filed a lawsuit against the school since they felt it was discriminatory.

DeAndre's story gained national attention and earned him sympathy from celebrities like Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade, who invited him to the Oscars. Ellen DeGeneres surprised the teen with a $20,000 scholarship earlier this year.