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Boy’s blue hair a celebration 

OMAHA, Neb — Mark Ashby Jr.’s hairstyle earned him one more day of summer vacation. 

The 7-year-old turned up for the first day of school Monday at Marrs Academy and was promptly told to go home because his blue Mohawk was a distraction. 

The haircut and color was allowed by his parents to reward him for good grades last semester. 

“We gave him the Mohawk. He saw a picture of an Indian with blue hair. He wanted that, like the Indian,” his father, Mark Ashby Sr., said. 

The younger Ashby is 25 percent American Indian and wanted to celebrate his culture, the family said. 

The school’s principal called the hair color disruptive and sent him home until his hair is returned to a more natural color, the senior Ashby said. 

The school district’s handbook requires students to dress in a reasonable and appropriate manner that doesn’t distract from learning, but leaves those standards up to individual principals. 

The second-grader was allowed back in school Tuesday with no explanation from the district. His parents have asked the American Civil Liberties Union to investigate.