Mother says daughter’s hair was pulled out by another student at Fox Elementary

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Richmond mother is demanding answers after she says her second-grade daughter returned home from Fox Elementary School with two braids forcibly pulled from her scalp.

Kaylan Harris said her daughter, Ze’Marii Harris, is now afraid to return to school after the incident -- which she said happened during recess on Friday, Nov. 14.

According to Harris, the confrontation began when a student threw jackets on the ground. After Ze’Marii and her friends chased after him, an argument followed, and the student allegedly pulled hair directly from her scalp, also leaving a scratch on the back of her neck.

Harris said she contacted the school principal the same day after not hearing from staff following the incident. She said that during the call, she expressed that her daughter was "traumatized.”

“She told me to get her some headbands, and she told me it could take a year or two for her hair to grow back,” Harris said the principal told her.

Harris said the student involved was suspended for one day and returned to class on the following day, Tuesday, Nov. 18. She kept Ze’Marii home out of fear, explaining that her daughter does not feel safe. 

“They are supposed to watch the kids when they're playing on the playground. She wasn't being watched,” Harris said. “For all that to happen, for her hair to be pulled out the way it was, she was not protected at all.”

Harris said she is considering legal action if stronger steps are not taken.

Richmond Public Schools responded that they cannot comment on individual student disciplinary matters.