A family is protesting a Terrytown Catholic school’s decision to send their African American daughter home on the first day of classes for hair that the school says violates the New Orleans Archdiocese dress code. The incident has drawn national attention after a social media filmed inside Christ the King Middle School. NAACP Baton Rouge President Michael McClanahan says its part of a long standing tradition of private schools throwing up barriers aimed at stopping African Americans from attending.
But constitutional scholars say discrimination cases against private schools can be notoriously difficult, as the private institutions are not governed by the same laws as public schools. Loyola Constitutional Law Professor Dane Ciolino says there are restrictions on expression even at public schools, and even more so at a place like Christ the King.
Cut 8 (08) “…private institution.”
The Archdiocese highlighted its hair policy in its defense, and released a statement saying “The policy was communicated to all parents during the summer and again before the first day of school.”
It’s been almost a year since the IRS began mailing out enforcement letters requiring businesses of a certain size to fill out mandatory information related to their compliance with Obamacare. Economist for BlueCross BlueShield Mike Bertaut says it’s been a big wakeup call to many Louisiana employers who assumed they were small enough to avoid many ACA regulations.