You Can Now Wear Your Hair As you Wish at Costa Rica Schools

When schools open again, students of all genders will be allowed to attend classes with the hairstyles of their choice. A circular about the issue was sent out on July 6. It states that all references to hair length, hair styles, and allowed haircuts be removed from regulations. 

The MEP has given schools one month to comply with this mandate. When face-to-face classes start up again, there will be no more letters sent home about inappropriate hair cuts, lengths, or styles. 

This decision is to protect students’ rights to gender identity, self-determination of image, and free development of personality. The Childhood and Adolescence Code established that education must be oriented to the full development of potential. 

Gone are the days of disputes about hair between teachers and students and their families. There have been two well known disputes, both of which the students and their families won. In one case, a boy was allowed to wear dreads, at the request of his mother, as this is a sign of identity of the Afro-Costa Rican population. In another situation, a boy was allowed to have long hair because he recovered it after undergoing treatment for leukemia.