WNEM TV 5 Cancer survivor responds to 'long hair' school suspension

A Flint-area cancer survivor who has been suspended from a charter school because of the long hair he planned to donate is talking to WNEM TV5.

J.T. Gaskins was suspended from Madison Academy, a charter school in Burton, on Jan. 23 after officials ruled his hairstyle violates school policy.

The school board says the policy on hair is it must be "off the collar, off the ears and out of the eyes."

The 17-year-old senior had leukemia but has been cancer-free since age 7. He said he plans to donate his hair to Locks of Love after learning that the sister of a family friend had cancer.

J.T.'s mother, Christa Plante, says she supports her son one hundred percent. "Even more so after reading all of the emails we've received from people from all over the country, [and] not just all over the country, but other countries," said Plante.

The academy issued a statement earlier this week that clarifies Gaskins doesn't have to cut his hair to return to school -- he just has to style it differently.

In part, it reads: "We want J.T. back in school, so we offered him and his mother several solutions, including the option that he can continue to grow his hair out if he simply styles it differently so that it's out of his eyes and ears and off his collar. So the reports that we're demanding he cut his hair are simply not true. To date, he and his mother have not agreed to any of these options."

The public has been signing an online petition in support of J.T. here: http://www.change.org/petitions/jts-cause. As of Wednesday morning, it had more than 50,700 signatures asking the school to implement a "donation policy."

J.T.'s mother will meet with the school board at 5:15 p.m. to discuss the issue.

Madison Academy will then hold a press conference at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the school, located at 3266 S. Genesee Road. They plan to discuss the suspension of Gaskins.

Madison Academy has about 630 students in grades K-12.

Copyright 2012 WNEM (Meredith Corporation.) All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.