Family: Investigation into school employee cutting biracial girl's hair 'botched and biased'

A school district in Michigan said there was no racial bias found by investigators in the cutting of a biracial student's hair by a school employee. However, the student's family is calling the investigation "botched and biased." 

The Mount Pleasant Public Schools Board of Education released a statement last Friday stating investigators found the employee to have violated school policy and did the cut without the knowledge of parents or the district administrator, but concluded that there was no racial bias.

"As your Board, we have made every effort to address this matter with the seriousness and care it deserves and with the transparency our community expects," the statement said. 

Christina Laster, with the National Parents Union and a representative for the family, told USA TODAY that they were disappointed with the response, and investigators never spoke with the father, Jimmy Hoffmeyer, or his daughter, Jurnee. 

"It was a botched and biased third party investigation without the perspective of the victim and the person who was harmed," Laster said.  

On March 24, Hoffmeyer said Jurnee, 7, came home from Ganiard Elementary with 2 to 3 inches of the right side of her hair cut off by one of her classmates.

Jurnee returned home two days later with the other side of her hair cut – this time by a school employee. 

After the haircuts, Hoffmeyer said an assistant at the school apologized for the incident and advised him the principal was out of the office and could not speak to him until after spring break. 

Hoffmeyer said he later got a call from the district's superintendent, Jennifer Verleger, who offered to send Jurnee an apology card in the mail.

"An apology card to a 7-year-old who is humiliated and has to be around her classmates like this?" Hoffmeyer asked. 

Hoffmeyer said the employee who cut Jurnee's hair and the classmate were both white but did not want to make the situation about race. Hoffmeyer is Black and white, and Jurnee's mother is white.

"It's hard to come to any decision when you don't have answers to why it was done," Hoffmeyer said.  

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Previously, the school district said a student asked for her hair to be cut both times, first by a classmate and later by a library employee, according to a letter sent to parents in April which Hoffmeyer shared with USA TODAY.

Hoffmeyer decided to send Jurnee back to her old school and began working with the National Parent's Union, a nationwide network of parent organizations, to demand answers for why her hair was cut. 

After the third party investigation, the school district said the employee who cut Jurnee's hair will be placed on a "last chance" agreement, where any further violation would likely result in termination.

Two other school employees were also reprimanded after they were made aware of the incident but did not report it, according to the release.

"It’s clear from the third-party investigation and the district’s own internal investigation that MPPS employees had good intentions when performing the haircut," the release said. "Regardless, their decisions and actions are unacceptable and show a major lack of judgment."

In response, the National Parents Union said they could not agree with the conclusion of the investigation in a statement sent to USA TODAY.

"It seems clear to us the 'investigation' was conducted to make sure the outcome was in favor of MPPS and was not done with the intention of bringing forth the truth, reckoning with the harm done, and setting best practices in place," the statement said. 

Laster said the Michigan Department of Education Office of Civil Rights was being sought for intervention. 

"They have proven their lack of ability to hold themselves accountable," Laster said. "Jurnee must and will have justice."

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Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.