MONT BELVIEU, Texas – A 17-year-old junior at Barbers Hill High School in Texas finds himself in a troubling situation, with most of his school year spent on in-school suspension due to his hairstyle, according to his mother.
Darresha George, the student’s mother, expressed her concerns about the situation, saying, “I know he’s upset, and he feels terrible about it.”
Texas recently joined the ranks of 24 states in the U.S. that have enacted the CROWN Act, a law designed to prohibit discrimination based on hair texture or hairstyles associated with race. The law went into effect on September 1, 2023.
Interestingly, a similar incident at Barbers Hill in 2020 led to the passage of the CROWN Act. At that time, a student named De’Andre Arnold was instructed to cut his long locs, leading to a legal battle against the district.
Representative Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, was one of the authors of the CROWN Act legislation. He expressed dismay at the situation, stating, “There’s absolutely zero excuse for this school district that knows the policy to do this all over again. It feels like déjà vu.”
However, the school district insists that their hair length rule does not conflict with the CROWN Act. The district’s handbook specifies that male students cannot have hair extending below the eyebrows or earlobes or worn in a style where hair extends below the top of a T-shirt collar.
Attorney Peyton Peebles points out that the CROWN Act does not explicitly address hair length, but it could be implied. He suggests that “length could be a way to discriminate against certain hairstyles without being openly discriminatory. It has the effect of preventing somebody from wearing a hairstyle that they may otherwise want to wear.”
The situation highlights the ongoing challenges surrounding interpretations and implementation of anti-discrimination laws, emphasizing the need for clear and inclusive policies.
