5th grader told to change hair color or don’t come to school

Story by Boris Sanchez

LITTLETON, Colo. — A student at Stony Creek Elementary School in Littleton says his principal is unfairly targeting him because of the color of his hair.

“Who cares about hair?!” said Aidan Testerman. “It’s just a different color.”

Aidan Testerman says he dyed his hair lime green “for fun” earlier this summer, saying it “expresses my personality, kind of weird and cool at the same time.”

But the school’s principal, John de la Garza wasn’t a fan, pulling Aidan out of class on Tuesday and warning the fifth grader that if he didn’t change his hair color by next Wednesday, he would not be allowed back to class.

“It was creating a disruption to the learning environment,” said de la Garza, who spoke to us over the phone.

The principal explained that Aidan’s hair is inappropriate for class, citing a portion of the student code.

“Hair falls under the description of appearance,” said de la Garza. “If it is creating a disruption, then it is not in compliance with the dress code.”

But Aidan’s mom, Tammy Keith, has a different interpretation of the code.

“I feel like my son is being targeted because he’s not within the norm,” said Keith. “Even though it explicitly says (in the Code of Conduct) that parents are allowed to let their children express themselves.”

Still, the principal is standing by his decision.

“I kind of feel actually bullied by a grown-up,” said Testerman. “I don’t feel that’s fair at all.”