The Texas CROWN Act, went into effect on September 1, 2023, and prohibits discrimination based on hairstyles that are commonly associated with a particular race or culture.
The Texas Tribune reports “At 18, Darryl George has spent most of his junior year at Barbers Hill High School separated from his classmates, sentenced to a mix of in-school suspension or class at an alternative education campus. He’s allegedly denied hot food and isn’t able to access teaching materials.
His offense: wearing his hair in long locs.
CNN reports: Barbers Hill Independent School District Superintendent Greg Poole said the ruling “validated our position that the district’s dress code does not violate the CROWN Act and that the CROWN Act does not give students unlimited self-expression. The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that affirmative action is a violation of the 14th Amendment and we believe the same reasoning will eventually be applied to the CROWN Act,” he said.
Poole previously told CNN “hair length of male students is only constitutionally protected for Native American students.” The Texas CROWN Act, went into effect on September 1, 2023, and prohibits discrimination based on hairstyles that are commonly associated with a particular race or culture.
District Representative Sara Leon, the district representative, said during the trial that the district’s policy is consistent with the CROWN Act and prevents the school from discriminating against George based on wearing dreadlocks, “but he can’t wear them at a length that exceeds the dress code.”
According to the student handbook, male students’ hair cannot extend past the eyebrows or earlobes.
She reiterated the district’s claim that hair length is not covered by the law, and arguments that include length amount to “additional protections beyond the prohibition of discrimination, protections that would supersede other race-neutral school policies.” NBC
“Darryl made this statement, and told me this straight up with tears in his eyes, ‘All because of my hair? I can’t get my education because of hair? I cannot be around other peers and enjoy my junior year, because of my hair?’” CNN
