Dad pulls son out of AB Paterson College over order to cut long hair

An Aussie dad has pulled his son out of a prestigious private school which required the prep student’s hair to be cut.

An Aussie dad who pulled his son from a prestigious private school after being ordered to cut the prep student’s long hair is vowing to fight ‘gender inequality’ in schools.

Gold Coast father Mark Morris felt so strongly he lodged a complaint against AB Paterson with the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Mr Morris brought the application to QCAT on the basis of sex discrimination, saying the Anti Discrimination Act would be breached if his son was forced to cut his hair for school because “boys’ appearance choices are restricted in a way based on gender that is more restrictive and therefore disadvantages boys compared to girls”.

He said he was also concerned about the infringement on his son’s human rights outside of school due to the invasive reach into personal autonomy.

Arundel father Mark Morris with his son

In January, QCAT Senior Member Ann Fitzpatrick said Mr Morris had the right to pursue the complaint under the Anti Discrimination Act but refused to grant an interim order, meaning his son would have to cut his hair before being allowed to attend school at AB Paterson.

Mr Morris has withdrawn his complaint - due to the burden of financial and emotional cost. But he’s also withdrawn both his children from the non-denominational private school after his suggestion to update the school’s gender-based hair policy was rejected, and his request for an individual exception was refused.

He said his family were homeschooling both their children in the wake of the dispute.

He said he had been offered legal representation to pursue the matter, but could not afford it, and ultimately decided it was too detrimental to his family to continue.

AB Paterson College principal Joanne Sheehy said the school’s position was affirmed by QCAT in an interlocutory decision published earlier this year, with Senior Member Fitzpatrick citing case law on the principle that “a dress code is not required to make provisions which apply identically to boys and girls”.

“Like other private schools, we have a uniform policy,” said Ms Sheehy. “Ours is intended to encourage all our students to be well-presented, respectful, and unified. Whilst there are obvious differences applicable to each gender, clear standards of presentation are expected of both male and female students. Mr Morris agreed to this policy when he enrolled his children at the College.

A.B. Paterson College principal Joanne Sheehy. Picture: Supplied by A.B. Paterson College

“Relaxation of the policy has the effect of undermining its purpose and the expectations of all the parents who enrol their children at the College.

“Whilst we will always adjust the application of a policy where reasonably required, for example where this is necessary to accommodate a student’s race, culture, religion, or gender identity, in this particular instance we did not consider an adjustment was required.”

Mr Morris agreed he was aware of the uniform policy when his son attended his prep interview, but said the school leadership had actively encouraged him to submit a proposal to update the College’s hair requirements in the spirit of gender equality and inclusion.

He said he submitted this proposal to Ms Sheehy in June 2023 but the school did not respond until November, despite many attempts he made to seek clarification.

Mr Morris said he was told his son would be sent home from school if he attended with his current hairstyle.

“If the school had not taken 19 weeks to respond, we could have used that time to talk to our son about cutting his hair. It was never a hairstyle we encouraged, it just grew and he liked it,” said Mr Morris. “It had become part of his identity.”

Mark Morris. Picture: Glenn Campbell

“I just did not want to have to physically hold him down at the hairdresser for the sake of a rule which no one has ever been able to explain the reason for.

“Alternatively, we could have made arrangements for both of our children to attend other schools. With such late notice coming at the end of a school year and into the Christmas period, we had no time for either of these options.

“The Queensland Human Rights Commission did help us and we really wanted to take this fight on under the Anti Discrimination Act, but it all became too much in terms of time, money and emotional expense.”

Mr Morris said he and his wife bought their Arundel home specifically because they wanted their children to attend AB Paterson College, but were now considering other schools and locations.

He said he was always optimistic about a positive outcome because supporting gender equality seemed logical, and there was a local precedent with Trinity Lutheran College updating their policies to be more equitable in late 2023.

Mr Morris said the experience had inspired him to investigate gender equality in schools and he was shocked to discover that the Human Rights Act did not apply to children in private school settings.

However, he said the experience had inspired him to investigate gender equality in schools, with his business consultancy firm Barcley Consulting examining 114 schools on the Gold Coast in its report ‘The Gold Coast Schoolyard: A Crossroads of Gender Equity’.

He said while he excused himself from the research due to personal bias, the findings had sparked widespread concern about gender equality in schools, specifically in regards to the damage that gender-specific uniforms could create, and he was in talks with universities around the world to expand the research.

Responding to the report, Bond University Professor of Psychology and Computational Modeling Dr Ahmed Moustafa said gender equality needed to be encouraged as early as possible, with national violence prevention organisation Our Watch stating there was a ‘strong and consistent association between gender inequality and violence against women’.

Rallies protesting against violence against women have swept the country this week. NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“Gender-based violence in Australia is at crisis level and we need to prioritise preventative action,” Dr Moustafa said.

“We know that gender inequality is a contributing factor to gender-based violence and it’s important that we encourage gender equality in every school from an early age.”

Charles Sturt University lecturer and senior international inclusion and wellbeing expert Dr Rachael Jefferson said schools should not be an accomplice in the perpetuation of gender inequality with unequal rules.

“Students’ gender equity futures are in our hands. Unless we trouble and interrogate all aspects of policy and practice in the Australian education system – as this ‘Gold Coast Schoolyard’ exploratory study begins to do – we will continue to limp forwards when it comes to basic human rights,” Dr Jefferson said.

Melbourne private schools also hit the headlines recently for their harsh hairstyle rules for male students, with one mother telling the Herald Sun the policy was outdated and discriminatory.

“The school wouldn’t allow my son to have his bleached blond hair and it shows the policies are inconsistently applied between boys and girls,” she said.

Mr Morris said he was calling on all parents, teachers and students to speak up and for funding to schools without gender-equal rules to be reconsidered.

“Public schools are reportedly underfunded, while up to 50 per cent of private school funding comes from the taxpayer. Yet private schools seem to play by their own rules,” he said.

“There is plenty of evidence why gender equality in schools is a good thing and absolutely no evidence why it’s a bad thing, yet it continues unless we act.”