Darryl George, 18, appeared at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, located roughly 30 miles east of Houston, where a school official said he was in violation of the dress code. George, who often wears his hair in braids or a ponytail, was handed a 13-day suspension because administrators say his hair is out of compliance when let down, according to a disciplinary notice issued by the school. The dress code policy specifies that hair length for male students cannot be worn in a style “that would allow the hair to extend below the top of a t-shirt collar, below the eyebrows, or below the ear lobes when let down.” However, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed after George’s first suspension in August, the policy violates the state’s CROWN Act, a law prohibiting discrimination against hair texture and race-based hairstyles by “extending statutory protection to hair texture and protective styles such as braids, locs, twists, and knots in the workplace and public schools.” Created in 2019, the legislation criminalizes the targeting of hairstyles accosted with race and prevents employers and educators from imposing stringent policies related to physical appearances. George’s latest suspension followed three months of disciplinary action over alleged dress code violations. "We will continue to fight alongside the George Family and work with State Rep Bowers and Reynolds to amend the vague language that's being exploited by Barbers Hill ISD to push their racial discrimination agenda towards our children," the George family said in a statement sent to NPR. The school district has filed a lawsuit in state district court asking a judge to determine if the dress code policy limiting student hair length for boys violates the CROWN Act. David Bloom, a spokesperson for the school district, told CNN that the suspension would not prevent George from graduating. “As far as graduation impact, there is none. A program is in place for him to complete his courses in dress-code ISS if he chooses not to trim his hair,” Bloom said.A black high school student who was suspended for more than a month for wearing a natural hairstyle has been suspended again over refusing to cut his locs to comply with the school’s dress code policy.
