A Texas judge ruled on Thursday that a school district’s dress code, which it used to suspend a Black student last year for refusing to change the way he wears his hair, did not violate a state law meant to prohibit race-based discrimination against people based on their hairstyle.
The student, Darryl George, 18, has locs, or long ropelike strands of hair, that he pins on his head in a barrel roll, a protective style that his mother said reflected Black culture.
He was separated from his classmates, given disciplinary notices, placed in in-school suspension and sent to an off-campus program.
The hearing on Thursday, in the 253rd Judicial District Court in Anahuac, was in response to a lawsuit filed in September by the Barbers Hill Independent School District.
The act, which took effect on Sept. 1, says a school district policy “may not discriminate against a hair texture or protective hairstyle commonly or historically associated with race.” It does not specifically mention hair length.
Persons:
Darryl George, George, Cain III, Darresha George
Organizations:
Hill High School, 253rd, Independent School District, Texas CROWN
Locations:
Texas, Mont Belvieu, Houston, Anahuac