A judge ordered Wednesday that a trial be held next month to determine whether a Black high school student in Texas can continue being punished by his district for refusing to change a hairstyle he and his family say is protected by a new state law.
Darryl George, 18, has not been in his regular classroom in Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu since Aug. 31. Instead, he has either been serving in-school suspension or spending time in an off-site disciplinary program.
His Houston-area school district, Barbers Hill, has said George’s long hair, which he wears in neatly tied and twisted locs on top of his head, violates a district dress code that limits hair length for boys. The district has said other students with locs comply with the length policy.
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In the ad, Poole defended his district’s policy and wrote that districts with a traditional dress code are safer and had higher academic performance and that “being an American requires conformity.”
I was suspended for my hairstyle, twice I think. Definitely at least two times. Just wasn’t in line with the dress code for the school. Annoyed me at the time but it’s like… the rules weren’t racial, I’m white and one of the times I had cornrows. It was the 90’s, I’d just been to Tenerife, I definitely looked stupid.
In the this case the dress code is a child’s argument. The hair is “too long” and the statute only protects cultural hair styles without using the word “length” anywhere. It’s exactly the same level as your buddy arguing you can deal illegal drugs if you get a tax stamp.