Judge: School's Dreadlock Punishment Is OK

Texas ruling says district didn't violate state law by penalizing student Darryl George for hairstyle
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 22, 2024 2:45 PM CST
Judge: School's Dreadlock Punishment Is OK
Darryl George in a file photo.   (AP Photo/Michael Wyke, File)

A Black teenager fighting his high school suspension in Texas over his hairstyle lost a round in court on Thursday. A state judge ruled that the Barbers Hill school district in Mont Belvieu did not run afoul of a new state law when it penalized Darryl George last year, reports ABC13. George, 18, wears his hair twisted into locs at the top of his head, and the district objects because it says George's hair would fall below his shirt collar when let down, per the AP. George has spent most of the school year either in suspension or at an off-campus disciplinary program.

On Thursday, state District Judge Chap Cain III ruled that the punishment doesn't violate the state's new CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, and is designed to prohibit race-based discrimination related to hair, per ABC News.

  • "We appreciate the court giving clarity to the meaning of the CROWN Act," said Sara Leon, an attorney for the school district. The district says the punishment is purely about hair length.
  • It's "just sad," said George after the ruling, maintaining that his hair is "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."
  • A family lawyer says they will appeal, reports the New York Times. George also has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (who signed the measure into law) and State Attorney General Ken Paxton.
(More dreadlocks stories.)

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