Darryl George, 18, returned to his in-school suspension at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, last week and will remain there for now.
HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas high school Black student who has been disciplined and kept away from his classroom for months for refusing to change his hairstyle is not likely to be back with his regular classmates anytime soon.
Efforts by Darryl George’s attorney to ask a judge to pause his punishment by his
Jaleesa Reed, an assistant professor at Cornell University whose research focuses on the intersections of beauty culture, identity and place informed by human geography, said repeated attempts to control Black hair expression through such policies shows the need for the CROWN Act at the federal level.
“Rather than punishing students, providing opportunities to learn more about cultural hairstyles could enrich the learning environment and foster acceptance of differences,” Reed said.
William Sherman, an attorney in Washington, D.C., and the legal strategist for the CROWN Act, said that George is being denied an education.
“Why? Because his hairstyle does not fit the Eurocentric ideal of neat and clean,” he said.
WHAT ARE OTHER LEGAL ISSUES COMPLICATING DARRYL GEORGE’S CASE?
George’s family has filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency and a federal civil rights lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton along with the school district, alleging they failed to enforce the CROWN Act. The lawsuit is before U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge.
The school district had filed a separate lawsuit in state district court asking a judge to clarify whether its dress code restrictions limiting student hair length for boys violate the CROWN Act. But George’s attorney filed a motion to move that lawsuit to federal court. That separate case is before another Houston federal judge.
During Wednesday’s court hearing, Eskridge discussed a motion to consolidate the two lawsuits, as well as motions to dismiss the lawsuit against Abbott and Paxton and the school district and to move the case to federal court in nearby Galveston.
Booker said she is hoping to argue a motion asking for a temporary injunction that would halt the school district’s punishment of George until his case is resolved. But she said she can’t do that until Eskridge rules on these other motions first and that might not happen until early next year.
“It’s very frustrating. It’s just overwhelming because it’s like you just want to get there … knowing that you’re going to win. Case precedent has been set. We will win the injunction,” Booker said.
Barbers Hill’s policy on student hair was previously challenged in a May 2020 federal lawsuit filed by two other students. Both students withdrew from the high school but one returned after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction, saying the student showed “a substantial likelihood” that his rights to free speech and to be free from race discrimination would be violated if not allowed to return to campus. That lawsuit remains pending.
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