Two sisters of African ancestry embroiled in a human rights complaint with their school over restrictions placed on their hairstyles have now been "unenrolled".
Amayah and Safhira Rowe missed a week of school in July when their principal said they could not return to regional Victorian high school Highview College until they tied up their hair.
The Year 11 and Year 10 students' father is from Ghana. The girls both have their hair braided and say it is painful to wear tied back.
They ultimately returned to the Maryborough school, each with "some-up, some-down" hairstyles, after extensive media coverage and continued attending mostly issue free, until a rapid escalation on Tuesday.
Their mother Rebecca Rowe said she received a letter from principal Melinda Scash which said Amayah and Safhira's enrolment had been cancelled.
The letter was sent after 17-year-old Amayah spent more than an hour in the school office discussing the issue with Ms Scash and staff, without her mother or another adult present.
Her mother waited outside the school in her car, but did not enter the premises because she had been banned from the school grounds during the uniform dispute.
The letter from Ms Scash to Ms Rowe, which has been seen by the ABC, said Amayah continued to be aggressive and wear jewellery not consistent with uniform, and Safhira was absent from class without permission.
Ms Scash has been contacted for interview but in a statement said "their behaviour on Tuesday afternoon was unacceptable. They were unenrolled from Highview that afternoon".
'Unfair treatment'
The ABC understands the Australian Human Rights Commission has become involved in the hair issue and will host a mediation between the school and the family in October.
Ms Rowe lodged a complaint to the commission saying her children were unfairly treated and excluded from school because of their race.
The Australian Human Rights Commission said it was unable to comment on individual cases due to confidentiality.
Ms Scash previously told the ABC the sisters must follow uniform protocols and it was their choice not to comply with the rules.
In a statement to the ABC on Wednesday, she said she "unenrolled" Amayah and Safhira after receiving confirmation they had both been enrolled in new schools.
Ms Rowe disputes this and says their "unenrolment" amounts to expulsion.
While Safhira had been enrolled in another school and was due to finish at Highview on Tuesday, this was not the case for Amayah, who was left with no schooling option to continue a critical VCE year.
Ms Rowe said her enrolment at another Ballarat school was conditional on passing end of year exams at Highview.
"We will have to try to get her in anywhere that will take her and hope for the best. That will reflect poorly on her results I imagine," she said.
Reasons disputed
Ms Rowe said Amayah had been assertive, not aggressive, and Tuesday was the first time Safhira had purposely missed class.
"They have never had complaints about anything behaviour wise, have really high academic goals and have always been reported as a pleasure to have in classrooms," she said.
"They are great kids. If I was running a school, these are the kids I would want there, not to get rid of them.
"They want to be there and continue their education."
Ms Rowe said she felt powerless and was not sure what to do next.
Highview is an independent school and the only authority who can act on the principal's decisions is the board.
The ABC has seen a letter from the board to parents sent after the hair dispute which said directors were in "full support" of Ms Scash and the school's leadership team.
Ms Rowe said she believed her daughters had been unfairly targeted because they spoke publicly about the uniform policy dispute.
Amayah said she felt like she had been stereotyped.
"I don't appreciate her repeatedly calling me aggressive which is a well-perpetuated black female stereotype which has been put on all women of colour," she said.
"I don't appreciate her ... disregard for my personal or mental wellbeing, or my education. She is an educator."
The ABC has asked Ms Scash to respond to other questions relating to the reasons for the sisters' "unenrollment" and accusations of unfair treatment, but is yet to receive a response.
Independent Schools Victoria and the Victorian Registrations and Qualifications Authority have also been contacted for comment but they do not have direct authority over the school.
