A regional Victorian secondary school's response to a uniform policy dispute could set a new precedent, a national cultural inclusion leader says.
Avoca sisters Amayah and Safhira Rowe claim they have been barred from attending school at Maryborough's Highview College until they tie up their hair.
The year 10 and 11 students' father is from Ghana and they say they cannot tie back their African braided hair because it causes pain.
Principal Melinda Scash said the school was accommodating of cultural requirements but uniform protocols needed to be followed.
"They have not been excluded from school. This is their choice," Ms Scash said.
Schools should 'do better'
The Australian Human Rights Commission's new Racism. It Stops With Me campaign launched nationwide earlier this month.
Campaign ambassador and cross-cultural consultant Tasneem Chopra said the issue at Highview College was "new territory" some regional schools might never have encountered.
She said the principal could set a new standard for all schools by creating a new inclusive uniform policy.
"I would like to think this could be a precedent for good, not bad," Ms Chopra said.
"Students coming to school every day look different to how they did 50 or 60 years ago, but in some cases policies haven't adapted.
"The burden is really on schools to do better, not on students to have to assimilate to white standards."
African Community and Cultural Association of Victoria chairperson Nze Nkem Anele said hairstyles did not affect schooling and he was "appalled" to hear the Rowe sisters had been suspended.
"This is a free society," he said.
"Some religious groups wear their hair a certain way for their religious beliefs. Should you stop those children going to school too?"
He said he was disappointed.
"I don’t think there is a place and time for this in Australia in the year 2022," he said.
Celebration of African Australians public officer Chiaka Moneke said she had heard stories of other young people across the country experiencing similar exclusion at school.
"One policy doesn't fit everyone," she said.
She said schools needed to identify that the landscape was changing and Australia was changing.
"You cannot make a law you must tie up your hair when everyone's hair doesn't look the same," Ms Moneke said.
Ms Chopra said Highview College should use the uniform policy dispute as a learning opportunity for students and a demonstration of inclusion.
"This is a learning moment for the principal to demonstrate we can do better, we can accommodate through inclusive measures the various cultural needs of our student body," she said.
"Millions of students in the African continent attend school with their hair in braids and I am pretty sure they are doing pretty well."
Ms Chopra said she would like to see cultural competency training rolled out in all schools, particularly as more migrants moved to regional areas.
The latest census data shows 27.6 per cent of the Australian population is born overseas.
"Let's ensure schools are ready," Ms Chopra said.
"Change isn't bad, it is just different. Let's embrace it in the spirit of positivity and not in the spirit of conservatism and exclusion which is not the Australia we want to be in 2022."
Uniform policy must be 'reasonable'
Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission director of dispute resolution Emilie Howie said in a statement schools were exempt from discrimination law around standards of dress and appearance.
She said schools could set any standard of dress if it was considered reasonable to the broader school community.
"A uniform policy that sets unreasonable standards may be discriminatory," Ms Howie said.
"We'd encourage any parents or students who have concerns about a uniform policy to contact us to discuss the specifics of their situation and whether it may be discrimination."
