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An Oklahoma mother was completely shocked after her 7-year-old son Asiah came home from school with a fresh new look that she did not authorize.
The mom, who says the family wears long hair as part of their Native American Culture, was told by school staff that her autistic son chopped his own hair, but she insists he “would not have done this to himself.”
Keep reading to learn why this mom is so upset with the school!
On August 21, 2024, Rachelle Plumley shared a Facebook post of her 7-year-old son Asiah, who’s autistic and mostly non-verbal, sitting outside at a playground.
“His beautiful long native hair” she captions the photo of the smiling child. A second, she shows the clean cut little boy, long hair in a single back braid, dressed for his school day at Frontiers Public Schools in Noble Country, Oklahoma.
“How I sent his hair to school, in a single braid,” writes the 26-year-old mother, who when dropping Asiah at his special education class, was told by staff the students would be working with scissors.
When Plumley saw her child later that day, she was completely gobsmacked.
‘In literal tears’
In the last image of Plumley’s August 21 post, Asiah is seen with choppy hair and bangs, a new style from what he was wearing earlier that day. “How they sent my baby home,” she laments.
Plumley broadcast the images and a clip on social media, expressing her shock over her son’s new look.
“I’m in literal tears right now. I’m trying to be reasonable, but I can’t. My son is [seven] and only got his haircut once in his life!!! [And] this was how they sent him home from school. I can’t!!” Plumley writes on Facebook.
Then she shares the situation became worse when school staff “had the nerve” to suggest Asiah butchered his hair.
“But Asiah is afraid of haircuts,” she writes, adding that staff hinted that the family shouldn’t “let it grow so long.”
“He’s autistic…with THREE teacher aids, why is no one watching my f***ing kid?! the fact that it’s so straight like bangs & the back makes me think someone did it to him. I can’t stop crying and he keeps telling me it’s okay Mom…like no son, it’s not.”
‘Represents strength’
After her post went viral and several media outlets picked up the story, Plumley spoke with Fox 8, explaining her shock when she saw Asiah with his freshly coiffed hair.
“When he walked in the door, we noticed obviously his hair was cut,” said Plumley. “A simple ‘I’m sorry,’ or even a phone call would have helped and made me feel a lot better, but still nothing has been said.”
Looking for answers, the parents contacted the school and were told that Asiah “went behind the teacher’s desk, just took the scissors, and cut his hair.”
But Plumley isn’t buying that story and argues that her son is required to always have one of three classroom aides with him.
“Even if he did do this to himself, I feel like the school is still held accountable for not paying attention and [not] being there for my son that I’m trusting them to do every day,” she said, adding she’s thankful some of the hair is still there.
“In Native American culture, it does represent strength, and it means a lot to us and he wouldn’t have done this to himself,” said Plumley.
‘That did not happen’
Meanwhile, Frontier Public Schools Superintendent Erron Kauk responded to her complaints, and denied claims that a staff member gave the child a trim.
“We take a lot of pride in what we do here in Frontier about our Native American heritage as well as any other heritage we have,” says Kauk, who claims to have personally investigated the incident. “But there [were] accusations that a student got their hair cut by a school employee. We took that very seriously and we checked into it and investigated. That did not happen.”
“I can’t go into detail on the student’s situation, but we did do a thorough investigation, and a school employee did not cut a student’s hair,” Kauk said.
‘Spread positivity’
Days later, Plumley shares a new post explaining the school board asked her to share that they are coming to a resolution.
“I guess their appearance does matter…I want to be able to trust them with sending my kids back to school…I won’t apologize for speaking up for my son. I won’t apologize for being that mother,” she writes. Plumley then asks netizens to “please stop” threatening teachers: “We need to spread positivity and continue supporting my baby, WITHOUT hate.”
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