This blog originally appeared at Click 2 Houston.
MONT BELVIEU, Texas — A Black student in Texas, who spent over a month in in-school suspension due to his dreadlocks, has been informed that he will be transferred from his high school to a disciplinary alternative education program on Thursday.
Darryl George, an 18-year-old junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, has been under suspension since August 31. The school principal stated in a letter dated Wednesday, which was provided to The Associated Press by the family, that he will be attending EPIC, an alternative school program, from October 12 to November 29 due to “failure to comply” with multiple campus and classroom regulations.
The video above pertains to Barbers Hill ISD seeking legal clarification from the Texas court regarding the CROWN Act after suspending George for the second time over his dreadlocks.
Principal Lance Murphy stated that George has consistently breached the district’s established standards of student behavior. The letter further indicates that George can resume regular classroom instruction on November 30th but will not be permitted to enter the high school campus until that date unless he’s attending a meeting with school administrators to address his conduct.
Barbers Hill Independent School District enforces a dress code that bars male students from having hair extending beyond specific limits – below the eyebrows, ear lobes, or the top of a T-shirt collar, as specified in the student handbook. Furthermore, the code dictates that all students must maintain clean, well-groomed, and geometrically styled hair that does not feature unnatural colors or variations. It’s important to note that the school does not mandate uniforms.
However, George’s mother, Darresha George, and the family’s legal representative contend that the teenager’s hairstyle does not infringe upon the dress code. Last month, the family lodged a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency and initiated a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state’s governor and attorney general, alleging their failure to enforce a newly established law that forbids discrimination based on hairstyles.
The family claims that George’s suspension and subsequent disciplinary actions are in violation of Texas’ CROWN Act, which became effective on September 1. The CROWN Act, short for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” aims to prevent discrimination based on race-related hair characteristics. It prohibits employers and schools from penalizing individuals due to their hair texture or protective hairstyles, which encompass Afros, braids, dreadlocks, twists, or Bantu knots.
A federal version of this legislation passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last year but did not advance in the Senate.
Furthermore, the school district has initiated a lawsuit in state district court, seeking a judge’s clarification on whether its dress code regulations, including hair length restrictions for male students, are in compliance with the CROWN Act. This legal action was filed in Chambers County, located east of Houston.
Previously, George’s school had encountered conflicts with two other African American male students regarding the school’s dress code.
In 2020, Barbers Hill authorities instructed De’Andre Arnold and Kaden Bradford, who are cousins, to shorten their dreadlocks. In response, their families filed a lawsuit against the district in May 2020. A federal judge subsequently determined that the district’s hair policy was discriminatory. This ongoing legal case played a role in motivating Texas legislators to pass the state’s CROWN Act. Arnold and Bradford both withdrew from the school, with Bradford later returning after the judge’s ruling.
fleeredstates.blog 