CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Alexus Henderson said she would have never imagined her 7-year-old daughter, Skyla, returning from school with her hair damaged.
Henderson told WCNC Charlotte on Wednesday that Skyla's braid was recently cut out from the roots, with her confidence sunken to the ground.
"The child sitting next to her said 'those braids are ugly' and had a pair of scissors and cut it all the way down to the scalp," Henderson said. "She was embarrassed, she didn’t want anyone to see her."
Henderson said she took the issue directly to school leaders at TMSA Charlotte Elementary School and scheduled a meeting.
But before walking in she was met with a demand to sign a non-disclosure agreement, or an NDA.
"I did not feel comfortable signing it," she said. "They told me I could not enter the school and speak until it was signed."
Henderson said she couldn't understand why an NDA would be required to have a parent-teacher conference.
WCNC Charlotte reporter Tradesha Woodard spoke to superintendent Ben Karaduman, who confirmed an NDA is always required.
"If others are gonna be affected, then the school is gonna get in trouble," he said. "Any parent, whether that's a school lunch or just a school visit, will have to sign it."
Henderson said that’s not always the case; she met with staff after her daughter was hurt on the bus earlier this year.
"For that incident, they did not have me an NDA so it's interesting when it comes to an incident they may be responsible for, I'm treated like the problem," said Henderson.
Karaduman said if a parent does not want to sign an NDA, there are alternatives like having the conversation in the lobby. But that was a choice Henderson said was not on the table for her.
"I was actually told the lobby was not an appropriate place to have the conversation," she said.
Henderson said the principal asked her if she didn't feel safe signing their documents she felt safe sending Skyla there.
Henderson then removed her daughter from the school, and because she declined to sign the NDA the conversation about what happened to her daughter never happened.
The superintendent said he did reach out to the family for a Zoom option, but Henderson said they never received an email.
Karaduman said they will also be getting attorneys to take a closer look at their NDAs to get a better understanding of why parents may be worried about signing.
WCNC Charlotte reached out to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to get clarity on North Carolina Charter schools and to see if the use of an NDA is common and permissible.
[The Office of Charter Schools] has never heard of this practice," NCDPI wrote to WCNC Charlotte in an emailed response. "There are privacy laws protecting students and staff are prevented, in most cases, from discussing students with people other than their parents/guardians. Again, our office has not heard of this practice before and would advise the parent to seek legal advice. Neither the parent nor the school has contacted our office."
Charter schools in North Carolina are publicly funded.
Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.