P. Coonan
2024-03-02 19:08:09 UTC
(NewsNation) A Texas judge ruled Thursday that a schools suspension of
a Black teenager because of his dreadlocks does not violate the states
CROWN Act.
State District Judge Chap Cain, who heard case arguments Wednesday, sided
with Barbers Hill High School against Darryl George, 18, saying the
schools suspension does not violate the law.
The Texas legal system has validated our position that the districts
dress code does not violate the CROWN Act and that the CROWN Act does not
give students unlimited self-expression, the school said in a statement
to NewsNation partner The Hill following the ruling.
George was suspended back in August and hasnt been in his regular
Houston-area high school classes since then because the district, Barbers
Hill, says the length of his hair violates its dress code.
The 18-year-old wears his dreadlocks on the top of his head, away from his
face and neck, but the school adopted a rule stating a male students hair
could not be below his eyebrows or ear lobes when let down.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., called Thursdays decision anti-Black in
a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
Black folks deserve to show up as our full selves without punishment or
criminalization. Congress must pass & enforce the CROWN Act federally to
ban race-based hair discrimination once & for all, Pressley said.
Georges family had filed a complaint with the Texas Education Agency.
They also filed a civil rights lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and
Attorney General Ken Paxton for their alleged failure to enforce the CROWN
Act, which forbids racial hair discrimination.
However, some school officials argued the act does not address hair
length. The district filed a lawsuit arguing Georges long hair violates
its policy because it would fall below his shirt collar, eyebrows or
earlobes when let down. The district has said other students with
dreadlocks comply with the length policy.
Lawmakers involved in drafting the law have said its very purpose is to
protect hairstyles like Georges.
The attorney who crafted the law told NewsNation it was the first time the
CROWN Act had been challenged in Texas. If George had won the case, there
would have been close to 500 school districts in the state that would have
needed to update their dress code policies.
It is precisely the type of case that the CROWN Act was crafted to
prohibit. Darryl George wears his hair in a combination of braids and
locks. And the rule the neutral dress code as it were with the school,
does not require hair the boys to wear their hair below their ear
lobes, or past their eyebrows. If youve seen the numerous pictures of
Darryl George, his hair does not come below his eyebrows, nor does it go
below his ear lobes, said William Sherman, the attorney who helped create
the act.
His hair is not affecting his education. They have many mothers out here
who are pushing, trying to get their kids to go to school. I have a son,
18 years old, who wants to go to school, who wants to get his education
and you all are messing with him. Why? Georges mother Darresha said.
Barbers Hill Superintendent Greg Poole said last fall that George was
guilty of other school policy infractions as well that he could not
publicly disclose.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/southwest/judge-rules-against-
darryl-george-dreadlocks-case/
a Black teenager because of his dreadlocks does not violate the states
CROWN Act.
State District Judge Chap Cain, who heard case arguments Wednesday, sided
with Barbers Hill High School against Darryl George, 18, saying the
schools suspension does not violate the law.
The Texas legal system has validated our position that the districts
dress code does not violate the CROWN Act and that the CROWN Act does not
give students unlimited self-expression, the school said in a statement
to NewsNation partner The Hill following the ruling.
George was suspended back in August and hasnt been in his regular
Houston-area high school classes since then because the district, Barbers
Hill, says the length of his hair violates its dress code.
The 18-year-old wears his dreadlocks on the top of his head, away from his
face and neck, but the school adopted a rule stating a male students hair
could not be below his eyebrows or ear lobes when let down.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., called Thursdays decision anti-Black in
a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
Black folks deserve to show up as our full selves without punishment or
criminalization. Congress must pass & enforce the CROWN Act federally to
ban race-based hair discrimination once & for all, Pressley said.
Georges family had filed a complaint with the Texas Education Agency.
They also filed a civil rights lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and
Attorney General Ken Paxton for their alleged failure to enforce the CROWN
Act, which forbids racial hair discrimination.
However, some school officials argued the act does not address hair
length. The district filed a lawsuit arguing Georges long hair violates
its policy because it would fall below his shirt collar, eyebrows or
earlobes when let down. The district has said other students with
dreadlocks comply with the length policy.
Lawmakers involved in drafting the law have said its very purpose is to
protect hairstyles like Georges.
The attorney who crafted the law told NewsNation it was the first time the
CROWN Act had been challenged in Texas. If George had won the case, there
would have been close to 500 school districts in the state that would have
needed to update their dress code policies.
It is precisely the type of case that the CROWN Act was crafted to
prohibit. Darryl George wears his hair in a combination of braids and
locks. And the rule the neutral dress code as it were with the school,
does not require hair the boys to wear their hair below their ear
lobes, or past their eyebrows. If youve seen the numerous pictures of
Darryl George, his hair does not come below his eyebrows, nor does it go
below his ear lobes, said William Sherman, the attorney who helped create
the act.
His hair is not affecting his education. They have many mothers out here
who are pushing, trying to get their kids to go to school. I have a son,
18 years old, who wants to go to school, who wants to get his education
and you all are messing with him. Why? Georges mother Darresha said.
Barbers Hill Superintendent Greg Poole said last fall that George was
guilty of other school policy infractions as well that he could not
publicly disclose.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/southwest/judge-rules-against-
darryl-george-dreadlocks-case/