Malden Charter School Punishes Black Students for Hairstyle, Parents Say

MALDEN, MA — Black students at Mystic Valley Regional Charter are being disciplined for their hair extensions in what parents are calling racism from the Malden school, according to multiple reports.

In stories published late Thursday night, one parent said her twin 15-year-old daughters had multiple detentions and face suspension over their hairstyles – braids with extensions.

Interim School Director Alexander J. Dan said in a statement Mystic Valley aims to reduce "visible gaps between those of different means" and that hair extensions "tend to be very expensive."

Seventeen percent of the school's students are black, according to the U.S. News & World Report.

To read more, go to The Boston Globe or Fox25

Google Maps image of Mystic Valley Regional Charter

Correction: The original story said the girls were disciplined for braids. The school disciplined them for extensions, not braids.