ANAHUAC, Texas — A judge on Thursday ruled that a Texas high school was not violating the CROWN Act by punishing a Black teen over the length of his dreadlocks.
State District Judge Chap Cain III said the Barbers Hill Independent School District’s dress and grooming policies do not violate the CROWN Act, which prohibits race-based hair discrimination at work, school and in housing facilities in the state. The decision was met with sighs and gasps by many of those gathered in the courthouse, which included student Darryl George’s supporters and natural hair advocates.
Cain said the district’s policy, “does not prohibit nor does it discriminate against male students who wear braids, locs, or twists,” Cain said of the district’s policy.
The decision is the latest development in a months-long battle between George’s family and the Barbers Hill Independent School District.
“We appreciate clarification for the court because it’s an important question,” Sara Leon, representative for the district said of the ruling. “We’re glad to understand what the law means.”
George, a junior at the school in Mont Belvieu, outside of Houston, has been in in-school suspension or at an off-site disciplinary program for most of the school year since August, when school officials said George’s hair violates a district dress code regulating the length of boys’ hair.
George and his family have refused to cut his hair, which he wears neatly braided on top of his head away from his face and neck. They argued that George’s punishment violates the state’s newly implemented CROWN Act. The district disputed the claim, holding that the law doesn’t address hair length.
According to the student handbook, male students’ hair cannot extend past the eyebrows or ear lobes.
The district filed a lawsuit in September, requesting that a judge clarify whether that’s the case. Last month, Cain ordered the case to go to trial.
The case boiled down to whether the…
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