5-Year-Old Boy in Ohio Suspended from Kindergarten for Mohawk

A 5-year-old boy’s new Mohawk got him in trouble this week, when he was told by his Springfield teacher not to return to school until he cut his hair.

Ohio kindergartener Ethan Clos’ mother, Keisha Castle, was told Wednesday that her son’s spikey hair is a dress code violation at Reid Elementary School.

During spring break Clos got a "cool" haircut. The sides of his head were shaved and a strip on the top of his skull was spiked up. He got a lot of attention when he returned to class.

"They seen his hair like it was. All the little kids were going over and feeling on it and everything," Castle said.

Shawnee School District Superintendent Greg Morris said the haircut is also a distraction in the classroom.

"Our policy clearly states that any dress or grooming which is disruptive or distracting to the educational process is not acceptable. In this particular case, the student’s hairstyle did provide disruption to the classroom," Morris said.

However, Shawnee High School volunteer football coach, Tim Seelig, was praised for his use of a blonde Mohawk to rally his team in 2009 and 2011. A reporter for WHIO TV 7 asked Morris why Seelig’s Mohawk was fine, but Clos’s is a violation. Morris claimed the coach wasn’t causing a distraction.

"One involved an extracurricular spirit initiative designed to motivate our kids in the football playoffs a year ago. Classrooms were not disrupted. The other poses a disruption to the learning environment as well as violates the student dress code," Morris said.

Castle says they intend to shave the boy’s head so he can return to school on Monday.