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Schools Instructed Not to Expel Students Over Hair Color in Central Russia

Education officials in central Russia’s Perm region have reportedly instructed local schools to refrain from expelling students based on their hair color, months after a girl was disciplined over pink hair.

In September, a 15-year-old schoolgirl in Perm was suspended from classes after dyeing her hair pink in violation of her school’s dress code. Prosecutors in the region subsequently opened an investigation into the suspension of the girl.

Perm region’s education department reportedly sent a letter this week telling local schools to refrain from punishing students for dyeing their hair “bright, unnatural colors” or having “extravagant haircuts and hairstyles,” bright manicures and piercings, the state-run TASS news agency reported Wednesday, citing local education officials. 

Meanwhile, the department advised schools against allowing pupils to wear symbols of “asocial informal youth cultures," as well as clothes that promote drugs and other illegal behavior.

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