ASHTABULA, Ohio -- Josh Pauley said his new haircut allows him to be an individual and express himself, but it also got him expelled from school, NewsChannel5 reported.

Conneaut High School Principal John Plosila said he gave the 9th-grader plenty of chances to comply with the school's dress guidelines, but Pauley refused.

SLIDESHOW: Student's Mohawk

WEWS asked him why he didn't change his hairstyle along with the red dye in the front.

"'Cause I was being discriminated against. So many other people wear bare midriffs and mini-skirts and tattoos. They have facial piercings and holes in their ears that are big. And they send me home for my hair. I don't think it's right."

Plosila said the dress code states hair should not be of an unnatural color or of any style that could be disruptive.

"We enforce the dress code, and we enforce it evenly for all students," said Plosila. "There are some things we may overlook. Piercings are not an issue for us."

For now, Pauley and his Mohawk are out of school for the remainder of the year.

"It's ridiculous," Pauley said.

WEWS reported Pauley's parents are trying to enroll him in an online charter school and they are shopping for an attorney.

His parents are not thrilled with the haircut either.

"But he's an individual and we didn't feel it was hurting anything," said Theresa Pauley, Pauley's stepmother.