Floridas new school voucher program, designed to help students escape bullying in public schools, gives publicly funded scholarships to victimized kids and helps them attend private schools.

But many of the private schools participating in the Hope Scholarship program have strict hair policies that ban students who sport certain styles, like dreadlocks. Critics say these policies which have gained attention in recent weeks amid several incidents that have gone viral on the internet have racist undertones and fail the scholarship programs aim of helping victimized students.

HuffPost has previously reported that many schools participating in Floridas Hope Scholarship program have policies that exclude LGBTQ students, or use homophobic, racist and sexist teachings. Our latest analysis which examines the policies of the approximately 130 schools that have signed up for the program as of mid-August finds that many participating schools have strict or exclusive hair policies.

We found:

• Nearly 20 percent of participating schools 23 institutions have policies regarding a students hairstyle. These policies generally require that students sport natural hairstyles with natural colors. These schools have bans on styles that might be interpreted as extreme or fad.
• Four schools ban dreadlocks, or require that dreadlocks be tied back.
• Two schools ban hairwraps or beads.
• Five schools ban braids or cornrows, or have stipulations about the appearance of these hairstyles.
• One schools handbook says, Many styles of fashion are clearly a result of the liberal influence of todays secular society.
• One school has a ban on gothic or progressive hairstyles.
• Three schools require feminine appearance for girls.

Hope For Who?

The Hope Scholarship program, new this year, gives around $7,000 in taxpayer funds to students who have reported an instance of bullying and helps them attend private school. It also provides a transportation stipend for students who want to switch public schools. The program is the first of its kind in the U.S.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) supports the Hope Scholarship program, and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has championed similar programs and private school choice.

But, as HuffPost previously found, many of the schools that accept these scholarships more schools are currently signing up to participate are far from inclusive. LGBTQ students face high rates of bullying, but at least 10 percent of schools that have already signed up for the scholarship ban LGBTQ students or have policies objecting to homosexuality. As of mid-August, around 25 percent of schools in the program advertised using ultra-evangelical textbooks that promote racism, sexism and homophobia.