School regulations concerning hair have been successfully defended in appellate courts in about half the country. The most recent decision of a federal circuit court upholding a school's rules was decided in 1975. In this instance, the court reversed the position it held only three years earlier. There are some guidelines that should be kept in mind if a school has hair regulations or is considering their adoption: rules should be drawn as narrowly and specifically as possible and should be clearly related to the educational purposes of the school; the strongest legal basis for hair and grooming regulations are the protection of health, safety, or educational performance of the students; if the rule is based on the need to prevent disruption of the educational process, the school should be prepared to meet the test outlined in the Tinker decision; it should be made sure that the rule is not grounded solely on sexual stereotypes or other presuppositions that cannot be defended against charges of sex discrimination; and the rule should be spelled out, preferably in writing, and made known to everyone it will affect, before it is enforced against anyone. (Author/IRT)