The mother of a girl at Wangaratta District Specialist School says a teacher “invaded [her] daughter’s rights” when she made her shave her armpits.
Melissa Woods says her 14-year-old daughter was told she would “get picked on” if she had hairy underarms and was made to shave against her will.
Personal care classes are part of the school’s curriculum, but Ms Woods says she never gave consent for her daughter to be shaved, and that when she raised her concerns the teacher brushed it off: “I spoke to the teacher the very next day and she told me she has the right to do it, it’s part of the curriculum,” she told 3AW‘s Neil Mitchell. “I wasn’t satisfied with that so I went to the principal and sent her a letter. She wrote back saying… she regrets that they didn’t have a permission slip for me to sign.”
She said her daughter has ADHD and a condition called microcephaly, a neurodevelopmental disorder. She’s also previously expressed an apprehension to shaving her armpits.
Ms Woods says she’s contacted the school’s regional director for a better explanation. The school is yet to publicly comment on the issue.
