Girl with pink hair allowed to return to school

The Mountain Home seventh grader who was suspended from school for dying her hair pink to honor her father who died of cancer has returned to school, according to an article in today's Springfield News-Leader:

Amelia Robbins, a student at Mountain Grove Middle School, returned to classes Monday, after the school district relented, Springfield television station KYTV reported. The 12-year-old had been suspended just days after classes began Aug. 13.

Amelia has said she dyed her hair pink to honor her father, who died of cancer when she was 6.

The reversal came after an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union office in St. Louis wrote to the district last week arguing that students have a protected right to express themselves.

Amelia finished sixth grade at the same school with pink streaks in her hair.

She said school administrators warned her not to continue wearing the color, but -- with her mother's permission -- she dyed her hair entirely pink over the summer.