Tot Suspended Over Hair Length Misses Classmates

A prekindergarten student in Texas has been sent to in-school suspension because his hair was deemed too long.

"They kicked me out of that place," said 4-year-old Taylor Pugh, referring to his classroom. "I miss my friends."

Pugh likes to keep his hair long, but the length violates the dress code of his the Mesquite Independent School District in suburban Dallas. His parents say his hair will eventually be cut and donated to a charity that makes wigs for cancer patients, according to the Associated Press.

His mother, Elizabeth Taylor, said her son "is an individual. He wants his long hair." His father, Delton Pugh, who used to shave his head bald, said young Taylor made him pinkie-swear that he would grow his hair long with his son.

Pugh said that Taylor is being singled out, because he has seen other male students with hair much longer than his.

The dress code states that boys' hair must be kept out of the eyes and cannot extend below the bottom of their earlobes or over the collar of a dress shirt.