School Forced Shave Head: Military Haircut Offends Staff, Orders 7-Year-Old To Completely Shave Head

A Tennessee school was forced a boy to shave his head when he showed up to class with a military-style haircut. Adam Stinnet, 7, is proud of his older brother’s service in the U.S. military and wanted to express that. His brother, Justin, was killed after serving time in Afghanistan. In honor of his bravery, Adam wanted a “high and tight” haircut, but the school found his look to be a “distraction” and ordered him to have his head shaved or be suspended.

Fox 17 in Nashville reports that Bobby Ray Memorial Elementary School’s ultimatum has outraged many. News that a school ordered a student to shave his head is going viral online. The school sent a note home with Adam to his mother, Amy, stating that she needed to shave his head. Amy reportedly told the school that her son didn’t have a mohawk, but a military cut.

The school’s response was very direct, according to Amy. She shares the response they allegedly gave her.

“‘Well, we’re not a military school and that it has to be cut or he cannot return to school until it is.’ It broke my heart. It pretty much crushed a seven-year-old’s dreams.”

School Director Bobby Cox would only say that there’s nothing in the Warren County School District policy against military haircuts, but it’s at each school’s discretion to determine if the haircut is distracting.

On an interesting note, Bobby Ray Memorial is named in honor of a fallen soldier from McMinnville who served in Vietnam.

Army Times reports that the boy looks sick all the time due to his lack of hair, according to his mother.

Amy tells Fox 17 News that the school should be “ashamed of themselves.”

“The school should be ashamed of themselves. Is the way I feel. They have shamed a lot of military personnel.”

As for the boy forced by the school to shave his head so he could attend classes, he just wants his old haircut back, his mother says. Amy demands an apology from her son’s school and won’t let it go until she receives one.

Army Times writes that Adam’s mother is contacting local and national news agencies to spread the word about the school forcing her son to shave his head because they didn’t like his military haircut.

Cox released a brief statement to the Army news source in defense of the school’s decision.

“It’s been portrayed that we are anti-military, anti-patriot, and we are not. I’m just sorry that’s been the way it’s been portrayed.”

The school’s policy is under review in light of this headlining news story. Following this kind of backlash, maybe the school will revise the policy about forcing students to shave his heads.