I’ve found a lot of supportive people on myspace that are following our story and some have asked where they can send letters. I love this idea so for anyone who is interested, here is the information I have been sending out.
—————– Bulletin Message —————–
From: TheStitchWitch
Date: Jun 18, 2008 9:05 AM
The response to my son’s story has been amazing. We appreciate every email that gives us support and encouragement.
Thank you!
A few of you have asked where to send letters protesting the school district’s attitude and policy. Here is the mailing address for NISD. The elementary school uses the same one.
Needville ISD
16227 Highway 36 South
Post Office Box 412
Needville, Texas 77461
Curtis Rhodes is the superintendant and the person we have been dealing with directly. His email address is rhodesc@needvilleisd.com
Jeanna Sniffin is the Elementary school principal who originally told me no. Her email address is sniffinj@needvilleisd.com
The board members and their email addresses are:
Jim Kocian – President
kocianj@needvilleisd.com
Mark Wendt – Vice President
wendtm@needvilleisd.com
Joseph Anderson – Secretary
andersonj@needvilleisd.com
Mike Raska – Asst.
Secretary
raskam@needvilleisd.com
Jan Black
blackj@needvilleisd.com
Kim Janke
jankek@needvilleisd.com
Chris Janicek
janicekc@needvilleisd.com
The board members information was found here:
http://www. needvilleisd. com/NISD_Board_Members. htm
I would love to see what you all write and post copies in my blogs whenever possible. Try to keep the insults and talking poorly about people’s mothers to a minimum but please say what you feel.
If you are offended by this gross abuse of civil rights then please write and tell them. Its not just for my son, its for any child that may not fit their narrow standards of required appearance.
My son will benefit as well as any other future child in that district that dares to look different.
My son’s name is Adriel. By the time this is over it will be a name they never forget and wish they had never heard.
If you are forwarding this to someone outside of myspace, give them the link to my public blog where anyone can read all the details of our fight.
www.thestitchwitch.wordpress.com
June 21, 2008 at 3:23 pm |
The school policy and the people who are enforcing it are sadly backward. I hope they join this century sometime soon.
The two older brothers of one of my best school friends were anthropology students who had chosen Native American studies, specializing in the various Iroquois tribes. Heck, I knew of the Native American tradition of not cutting hair when I was a suburban white teenager who wasn’t even old enough to drive, more than fifteen years ago. Anyone with any clue in how to do research on cultural traditions could establish the validity of your claim with very little effort and time, especially with access to the Internet.
Just do a Google search using the following combined terms:
“long hair” “Native American” tradition
“long hair” “American Indian” tradition
Do your school officials profess themselves to be smarter than the Ohio State Supreme Court?
http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/Justices/pfeifer/column/2000/jp060700.htm
Do your school officials believe themselves above Federal Law?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Religious_Freedom_Act
The Alabama and Coushatta tribes of Texas sued the Trustees of the Big Sandy Independent School District, and it went to the Supreme Court, and the tribes won – I recommend you talk to your local library’s reference librarian for information on finding presentable material regarding this case, as much of the information on the Internet is mangled. Here’s one link, but you’ll see what I mean:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3805/is_200304/ai_n9176309
In short, not only are your school officials seriously pathetic, but they’re either lazy or sadly inept at use of the Internet.
There is a book, God vs the Gavel, with a lot of the legal history of First Amendment rulings, including ones you might find applicable. You might want to see if your local library has, or can get, a copy of that book.
There is an associate law professor who has been doing a great deal of work on this issue recently who might be a useful resource:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1137952
Good luck in your fight. You are not alone.
Signed,
Token Jew who grew up in a Catholic hell, and who believes your son deserves better