THE parents of a Tamworth high school student threatened with suspension for wearing a bow tie to class have vowed to take their concerns to the education minister.
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Oxley High Year 12 student Dylan Sollars claims he was last week denied entry to class and warned he would be suspended for wearing a blue polka-dotted bow tie with his school uniform.
Despite the warnings, the 17-year-old has continued to wear his trademark neckpiece this week, receiving a detention on Monday but refusing to attend. His parents, Kristy and Kimble, are standing by their son – an avid Dr Who fan who wears a similar bow tie to the famous sci-fi doctor – and are seeking legal advice over the issue.
The couple met with local Department of Education representatives on Thursday but were unable to reach a compromise.
The Sollarses have even offered to get a special bow tie made in the school colours – navy and white.
Mrs Sollars said while it may seem like a trivial issue to some, for Dylan, who is living with Asperger’s, it was anything but.
“We don’t feel Dylan wearing a bow tie is stopping him or any other student,” Mrs Sollars said.
“He chooses to wear it rather than a traditional tie and he’s worn it for six months.
“It would be a massive change for him to have to take it off – it would be quite traumatic.”
She said many other students at the school had minor alterations to the uniform.
While under the school’s rules Dylan cannot be suspended for a uniform breach, he has been told he can be suspended for “disobedience relating to the uniform”.
NSW education minister Adrian Piccoli said it would not be appropriate for him to intervene.
“Uniform decisions are made by the principal, in consultation with the P&C,” Mr Piccoli said.
“It’s not appropriate for the minister to start intervening.”
In a Northern Daily Leader online poll, 52.67 per cent (247 votes) readers said students should not be suspended for wearing incorrect school uniform, while 47.33 per cent (222 votes) said they should.