A Long Island high school is caught up in controversy after a White teacher reportedly made inappropriate remarks regarding a 17-year-old Black student’s hair.
The family of the student filed a discrimination claim last week with New York State against a cosmetology teacher, alleging that the teen was discriminated against on the basis of skin color.
Cindy Covington, the student's mother, claimed that the teacher disrespected her child in a cosmetology class at Sachem East High School when describing her daughter's hair as "ethnic."
Covington told CBS New York that her daughter asked the teacher what kind of hair the teacher has if her hair is considered "ethnic."
"She said, ‘So, if my hair is ethnic hair, then, you know, what type of hair do you have?’ And she told my daughter she had American hair, she had normal hair," Covington said.
"There are different textures of hair," she added. "I would love to know -- what is American hair? What is that? I really would love to know. What is 'normal' hair?"
The teacher responded to Covington, "'Well, you know I’m American, too?'" Covington said to CBS News about the alleged conversation with the Long Island teacher.
According to Covington, the teacher has made similar remarks in the past.
The superintendent of the school district told CBS2 that they will review the complaint.
"At this time, the District has not been formally notified or served with any official paperwork regarding this complaint. We have publicly heard about this matter through various media inquiries and are reviewing the alleged complaint," Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christopher Pellettieri said.
Covington said that the teacher claims the term "ethnic hair" is used in cosmetology. Covington explained further that that shouldn't be the case and changes must be made to the terminology in the classroom.
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"She felt like she was the outcast in the classroom. She felt uncomfortable. She wanted to leave the class. She started asking to wear wigs. She was constantly asking for her hair to be straightened," Covington said.
The family wants an apology and for the teacher to go through sensitivity training. They also call for legal damages so that other students are affected by a teacher's language similar to that.
A discrimination complaint was filed with the New York state Division of Human Rights. Hair discrimination is equated with race discrimination due to New York's CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. The law eliminates discrimination on the style or texture of someone's hair.
The Sachem Central School District is one of the largest school districts by population on Long Island and presides over 15 schools and 12,120 students.
