Texas School’s Suspension of Black Student Who Refused to Cut Hair Wasn’t Discriminatory, Judge Says

A Houston-area high school didn’t violate a state law prohibiting race-based hair discrimination when it suspended a Black student who refused to cut his hair, a Texas judge ruled Thursday.

The student, Darryl George, has been suspended from Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, since August.

The Barbers Hill Independent School District said George’s hair, which he wears in locs, violated its dress code, according to court documents. The district’s dress code for male students says hair can’t fall below the eyebrows, earlobes or a T-shirt collar when let down.

George said in court documents he refused to cut his hair because his locs are an expression of his cultural pride. George wears his hair in tight twists that are pinned up.

The school district asked a Chambers County judge in September to determine whether the dress code violated the Crown Act, a state law that went into effect the same month. It prohibits discrimination at work or school based on a person’s hair texture and style, including braids, locs and twists.

The school district said the Crown Act has nothing to do with hair length.

“We are grateful to receive clarification on this new state law and for the court’s expedited consideration of this matter,” said Sara Hardner Leon, a lawyer for the school district, on Thursday.

Lawyers for the George family didn’t respond to a request for comment.

In court documents, George said the district’s dress code affects Black males more than other people. He also said forcing him to cut his hair limits his freedom of expression.

George and his mother, Darresha George, also sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton in September in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas, saying the officials failed to protect the student from race and gender discrimination. That case continues.

Abbott and Paxton have sought to have the federal lawsuit dismissed. Their offices didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Write to Joseph Pisani at [email protected]