ANAHUAC, Texas — A Black high school student’s monthslong punishment by his Texas school district for refusing to change his hairstyle does not violate a new state law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination, a judge ruled on Thursday.
Darryl George, 18, is a junior and has not been in his regular classes at his Houston-area high school since Aug. 31 because Barbers Hill ISD says he is violating its policy limiting the length of boys’ hair.
The district filed a lawsuit arguing George’s long hair, which he wears in tied and twisted locs on top of his head, violates its dress code policy because it would fall below his shirt collar, eyebrows or earlobes when let down.
“It's how I feel closer to my people. It’s how I feel closer to my ancestors. It’s just me. It’s how I am," George said.
After just a few hours of testimony in Anahuac, state District Judge Chap Cain III ruled in favor of the school district, saying its ongoing discipline of George over the length of his hair is legal under the CROWN Act.
The George family walked out of the courtroom crying and physically shaken.
“He made the statement that told me straight up with tears in his eyes, 'All because of my hair,'" activist Candice Matthews said.
For most of the school year, George has either served in-school suspension at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu or spent time at an off-site disciplinary program.
"Bad people are using a good law in a bad way. And that’s what’s happening," the family's attorney, Allie Booker, said.
During testimony, it was pointed out that the Crown Act doesn't explicitly include hair length in the wording. But State Rep. Ron Reynolds, a co-author of the law, testified that “length was inferred with the very nature of the style.”
“Anyone familiar with braids, locs, twists knows it requires a certain amount of length,” Reynolds said. "The school district is hell-bent on finding a loophole. They want to violate the spirit of the law. I articulated on the stand what the legislative intent behind it was."
The school district did not offer any witnesses to testify before the ruling, instead only submitting evidence that included an affidavit from the district’s superintendent defending the dress code policy.
“We appreciate the court giving clarity to the meaning of the CROWN Act," said Sara Leon, an attorney for the school district.
In a statement, BHISD superintendent Greg Poole said: “The Texas legal system has validated our position that the district's dress code does not violate the CROWN Act and that the CROWN Act does not give students unlimited self-expression.”
Booker said they'll appeal today's decision. George’s family has also filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency and a federal civil rights lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton,
Barbers Hill’s hair policy was also challenged in a May 2020 federal lawsuit filed by two other students. Both withdrew from the high school, but one returned after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction, saying there was “a substantial likelihood” that his rights to free speech and to be free from racial discrimination would be violated if he was not allowed to return. That lawsuit is pending.