Oklahoma

Here at the National Women’s Law Center, we hear stories about problematic school policies all the time. But this story out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is particularly egregious: a charter school’s policy around hairstyles left seven-year-old Tiana Parker feeling alienated and her father with no choice but to transfer her to a new school.

Tiana Parker was sent home from Deborah Brown Community School due to her dreadlocks.  According to the school’s policy, “hairstyles such as dreadlocks, afros, mohawks, and other faddish styles are unacceptable” because they might “distract” students.  It’s not clear to me why dreadlocks and afros are considered “faddish” – these are common natural hairstyles in the black community that have been worn for centuries.  What is clear to me is that this school may need some education about the federal laws prohibiting programs that receive federal funding from discriminating based on race, color, or national origin – Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.  And let’s not forget Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.  Read more »

Recently, working parents in Oklahoma and New Mexico received some welcome news. State officials in these states reversed policies that would have made it more challenging for parents who need help paying for child care.

In June of this year, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services proposed to decrease funding for the state’s child care assistance program. Eligibility for child care assistance was set to be cut back and parents who receive help were set for an increase in their copayments as of August 1. Due to a disagreement over how the decision for program cuts was made, there was a delay in implementation until November 1. The good news is that last month the Department of Human Services announced that it had managed to find the funding necessary to avoid these cuts—at least for now.

In 2010 New Mexico stopped serving families who applied for child care assistance who had incomes above 100 percent of poverty ($18,530 a year for a family of three). Previously, families with incomes up to 200 percent of poverty ($37,060 a year for a family of three) applying for child care assistance could receive it. Read more »