An 8-year-old girl with short hair in Timberlake, Va., was banned from school for sporting a pixie haircut administrators said didn't follow "biblical standards."

"We believe that unless Sunnie as well as her family clearly understand that God has made her female and her dress and behavior need to follow suit with her God-ordained identity, that TCS (Timberlake Christian School) is not the best place for her future education,” read a letter that Sunnie Kahle’s grandparents received, according to local news station WSET-TV.

The letter was sent to the little girl's grandparents after the school said her short hair and dress didn’t adhere to the school's policy. This led the school to question if Kahle was confused about her gender. "Sunnie realizes she's a female, but she wants to do boy things," said Doris Thompson, Kahle's great-grandmother, about the tomboy. "She wants to play rough and tough." In kindergarten she wore the school uniform, and on dress down days she would wear slacks instead of a skirt.

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

The school responded by saying that “[we are an] extension of the Church. Our mission is to provide an excellent education and to nurture boys and girls in the knowledge of Jesus Christ so that they too can have a personal relationship with him,” the school's legal representatives, Liberty Counsel, said in a statement.

Kahle’s grandparents are livid, and they feel sorry for their granddaughter because they say she cries every day missing her friends at Timberlake Christian School. "To claim that we are condoning sexual immorality in our home is nonsense," Thompson said. "We are Christians. We understand the Bible. Sunnie knows it very well. She has accepted Christ.”

TCS also wanted to make it a point to say that, “the decision to remove Sunnie was entirely that of the grandparents." However, in a letter from the Principal Becky Bowman, it said, “We love Sunnie and do want the best for her. We would miss her presence here, but we do not want her future years be filled [with] confusion and conflicting input from those who are guiding her.” The letter also included a paragraph stating that the school had the right to refuse a student’s admission if it did not agree with “the biblical lifestyle that the school teaches.

“This includes, but is not necessarily limited to living in, condoning or supporting sexual immorality; practicing homosexual lifestyle or alternative gender identity; promoting such practices; or otherwise having the ability to support the moral principles of the school,” the letter concluded.