Like a character from the Bible, 17-year-old Jesus Figueroa draws strength from his shoulder-length hair.It is spiritual, and the honors student at Somerset High School said he considers his locks part of his Native American heritage, which he has been discovering as he matures.
But, according to a federal lawsuit he filed, his hair doesn’t sit well with the rules of the Somerset Independent School District. The district bars male students from having hair that touches the shirt collar.
Figueroa had to serve two in-school suspensions last year until he cut his hair. After he refused to trim it a third time earlier this year, he was suspended again until he filed the lawsuit and got a judge to order the district to allow him back into his regular classes. By then, he had served a month of the latest suspension.
On Friday, Figueroa tried to make his case that the district’s actions trample on his Constitutional right to religious expression. Native Americans don’t cut their hair unless they’re in mourning, he argues.
He wants to be able to graduate in May taking his regular courses, and the district seems inflexible and indifferent, he argues. He’s already has a scholarship to attend Our Lady of the Lake University.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery gave him a partial victory, at least until a school board meeting April 13.
if he puts it in an up do while he's in class then it doesn't touch his collar, and problem solved
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