A Black high school student in Texas has found himself suspended for over a week due to his locs hairstyle, which allegedly violated the school district’s dress code, according to his mother. This incident has gained attention as it raises questions about the application of a new state law, the CROWN Act, which aims to prohibit discrimination based on hairstyles.
Darryl George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, faced disciplinary action and in-school suspension for wearing his locs in a ponytail, his mother, Darresha George, reported to CNN.
Remarkably, Darryl’s suspension occurred during the same week that Texas’s CROWN Act came into effect. The CROWN Act is a state law designed to prevent discrimination based on hair texture or protective hairstyles such as locs and braids.
Despite this, neither the school nor the Barbers Hill Independent School District responded to CNN’s requests for comment. A district spokesperson, speaking to CNN affiliate KTRK, asserted that the hair length rule did not conflict with the CROWN Act.
The situation has left the 17-year-old student frustrated, as his mother explained, “He’s very anxious, very aggravated right now because he keeps getting punished for something that’s irrelevant to his education.” The George family has taken legal action by hiring a lawyer, and they are considering further legal steps.
School officials informed George that his locs hairstyle violated the Barbers Hill Independent School District’s dress and grooming code. This code specifies, “Male students’ hair will not extend, at any time, below the eyebrows or below the ear lobes.”
The policy continues, stating, “Male students’ hair must not extend below the top of a t-shirt collar or be gathered or worn in a style that would allow the hair to extend below the top of a t-shirt collar, below the eyebrows, or below the ear lobes when let down.”
Notably, this incident in Texas parallels a similar case from the prior year when the Barbers Hill Independent School District faced legal action after implementing its hair-length policy. In that case, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction against the district, preventing it from enforcing the hair-length policy.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the state’s CROWN Act into law in May, marking a significant step towards ending hair-based discrimination. The law’s passage has been celebrated by activists and individuals affected by such policies. Texas is one of two dozen states that have enacted versions of the CROWN Act, which was first introduced in California in 2019. However, efforts to pass a national CROWN Act at the federal level have so far been unsuccessful.
