Four-year-old Jabez Oates hasn't had his wavy brown hair cut even once since birth, as his mom's family is Cocopah Indian, a tribe that values hair as a sign of strength. On Aug. 18, his mother, Jessica Oates, was told by administrators at Barbers Hill Kindergarten Center in Texas that the boy wouldn't be allowed back at school until his hair was cut shorter [1], as per their dress code (despite having been told previously that if his hair was long due to his heritage, that would be OK). On Monday, Jabez showed up to school with his hair in a bun, but he and his mom were told to go home.

The 25-year-old mom has since started a petition online against Barbers Hill's sexist policy [2]. "It's a sexist rule that should not be implemented for boys if it's not implemented for girls. It's that simple," Oates wrote in the petition. "Girls have no rule on the length of their hair . . . The same courtesy should be extended to my child. I have tried to meet them half way. I have no problem putting his hair up or keeping it in a bun, but that is simply not good enough for this district."

Oates can be heard reiterating this argument in a 15-minute video taken on her cell phone while sitting down with a school employee [3]. The woman she's speaking to mentions several times that the rule is "just the school's policy" and that it's important to them.

She then provides Oates with an interesting comparison to back the school board's reasoning: "When Rudy Giuliani came into New York City, the first thing he did was go after graffiti. They had all sorts of other things that seem big, but it's perception, it's a brand, and that's just important to our school board and this community." To which Oates responds: "So little boys with long hair are dirty, essentially? Y'all are cleaning it up? I don't get it — I'm not understanding what's wrong about my son having long hair."

The mom continues, after being told another time that it's just the school's policy: "To me it's sexist and archaic. I'm not sure how old the rule is, but it's completely sexist. [His hair] is something he was born with, it's nature, it's science . . . I don't have anything against people who cut their child's hair, obviously, but for someone to be against me for keeping something that nature and science intended is absolutely flabbergasting because it's not dirty, it's not unkempt, it's not problematic. He's a beautiful little boy who's worthy of all the respect and education as any little boy in this school district who has short hair. That is my issue."