Barbers Hill student CROWN Act trial begins
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A trial will begin Thursday to determine whether Barbers Hill ISD is violating Texas' CROWN Act after the district suspended a Black student over his hair, which is in dreadlocks.
Catch up fast: Darryl George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School, has been in in-school suspension or at an off-site disciplinary program for most of the school year because of his refusal to change his hairstyle.
- The district, about 30 miles from Houston, said Darryl's hair violates a hair-length policy that says male students' hair cannot extend past the eyebrows or earlobes.
What's happening: George's mother and the family's attorney have denied that his hairstyle violates the district's policy, saying his hair is neatly tied in twisted locs on top of his head, per NBC.
Context: Texas is one of more than 20 states that have passed a version of the CROWN Act, which stands for Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. It bans race-based hair discrimination at state-funded institutions, including public schools.
- Gov. Greg Abbott signed the act, or House Bill 567, in May, and it went into effect Sept. 1 — a day after George was suspended.
- George's family filed a lawsuit against Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, saying they failed to enforce the new law.
The other side: The district has maintained its position, arguing the dress code is not in violation of the CROWN Act. In the fall, the district filed a lawsuit to clarify how the CROWN Act relates to hair length policies.
- "The Texas CROWN Act protects hair texture and the wearing of braids, twists, and locs. Those with agendas wish to make the CROWN Act a blanket allowance of student expression. Again, we look forward to this issue being legally resolved," Barbers Hill ISD Superintendent Greg Poole said in a statement to NBC News.
Flashback: Barbers Hill ISD is the district that sparked the push for the CROWN Act in Texas after officials gave another student, DeAndre Arnold, an in-school suspension and barred him from attending his graduation ceremony in 2020 over his locs.
What they're saying: "I wrote the CROWN Act, I filed it, to stop exactly the kind of discrimination that we are seeing right here in Barbers Hill ISD," state Rep. Rhetta Bowers, a Democrat from the Dallas area, said. "Barbers Hill ISD is punishing Darryl George for one reason: his choice to wear his hair in a protective style, which harms no one and causes no distraction in the classroom."
- "I'm glad that we are being heard too. I'm glad that things are moving and we're getting through this," Darresha George told the Associated Press.