A Dauphin County mother said she is seeking reform after a dispute with the religious school where her son previously attended kindergarten over rules on hair length. Stephanie Robles, 34, said her 5-year-old son was not allowed to attend classes at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School in Pembroke because school leaders determined her son’s hair was too long and violated the student code of conduct. She said school administrators told her she needed to cut her son’s hair, but she disagreed. The district’s code of conduct states that boys in grades 1 through 8 must have hair no longer than 2 inches long, neatly trimmed, and trimmed to 1 inch around the ears and at the nape of the neck. No cropped hair, shaved heads, tails, buns or spiked hair are allowed. It also says hair must be blended and layered in a conservative men’s haircut, with a No. 2 braid or higher. After her son tried to braid his hair to make him compliant but was not accepted, Robles said she pulled him out of the school and enrolled him in the Harrisburg school district as soon as the new school year began. “He cried every day that he didn’t want to go. That was only on the first day. He only went to school twice and then he said, ‘Mom, I don’t want to be here.’ That’s when it all blew up and he never went to school again,” she said. Robles said the incident prompted her to campaign for the passage of the CROWN Act in Pennsylvania, a bill that would ban racial discrimination based on hairstyle, texture and type. She thinks the law may have influenced her decision. But the Diocese of Harrisburg said in a statement that both private and public institutions have codes of conduct and policies, and that the rules are published online. “In the case you mentioned in your email, the mother was fully informed of the school’s policy limiting the length of boys’ hair on July 31, 2024, well before school began,” diocese spokeswoman Rachel Bryson said. Robles also disputed the contact from Pembroke police after the incident. She said officers contacted her after complaints were made that Robles’ social media posts about the situation could be threatening. Pembroke’s police chief acknowledged the contact occurred, but no threats were confirmed, and Robles was friendly when speaking with the officers. Robles said she warned Bryson to be careful when speaking about handling issues related to the school because it could be misconstrued. “The way they handled it is very unpleasant… and I feel like some things need to change,” Robles said, adding that she would like to ask school leadership to make changes. The diocese defended calling police. “We take anything that we perceive as a threat to our school very seriously, especially the recent threats against our school,” Bryson said.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania —
A Dauphin County mother said she is calling for reform after a dispute with her son’s former religious school over rules on hair length.
Stephanie Robles, 34, said her 5-year-old son wasn’t allowed to attend classes at St. Margaret Mary Catholic School in Pembroke because school administrators decided his hair was too long and violated the student code of conduct. They told her her son needed to have his hair cut, but she said she disagreed.
The district’s code of conduct states that boys in grades 1 through 8 must have hair no longer than two inches long, neatly trimmed and cut one inch away from the ears and nape of the neck. Cropped, shaved heads, tails, buns and spiked hairstyles are not permitted.
It also says that for men’s haircuts, the hair should be blended and layered and a No. 2 braid or larger should be used.
Robles said she tried to braid her son’s hair to get him to comply, but he wasn’t receptive, so she pulled him from the school shortly after the new school year started and enrolled him in the Harrisburg school district.
“Every day he cried he didn’t want to go to school. That was just the first day. He only went to school twice. And then he said, ‘Mom, I don’t want to be here’. Then it all exploded and he never went to school again,” she said.
Robles said the incident prompted her to campaign for the CROWN Act, a bill in Pennsylvania that would ban racial discrimination based on hairstyle, texture and body type, and she believes the bill may have influenced the decision.
But the Harrisburg Diocese said in a statement that both private and public institutions have codes of conduct and policies that are posted online.
“In the case mentioned in your email, the mother was fully informed of the school’s policy restricting the length of boys’ hair on July 31, 2024, well before school began,” diocese spokeswoman Rachel Bryson said.
Robles also took issue with communication from Pembroke police after the incident. She said officers contacted her after receiving a complaint that social media posts Robles had made about the situation were potentially threatening.
Pembroke Police Chief David L. Robles confirmed there had been contact but no threats were confirmed and that Robles was friendly when speaking with officers. He said Robles had warned officers to be careful when talking about addressing school issues because it could be misconstrued.
“The way they’ve handled it is very unpleasant … and I feel like some things need to change,” Robles said, adding that she hopes to see change from school leadership.
The diocese defended contacting police.
“We take any perceived threats against our schools very seriously, especially recent threats against our schools,” Bryson said.
