Trial date set for Texas student suspended during suspension

His case Darryl George, a Texas high school student who was suspended multiple times for wearing his hair in a sideburn, will go on trial next month, according to the Associated Press. A judge ruled on Wednesday that claims by George's family that his hairstyle is protected by a law known as the CROWN Act must be heard in court. State Judge Chap Cain III set a trial date for February 22 in Anahuac, Texas.

George, 18, wears his sideburns tied on top of his head. Administrators at Berber Hill High School in Mont Belvieu removed the teenager from class on Aug. 31, citing a dress code that restricts boys' hair length, and has forced him to either serve an in-school suspension or participate in an off-campus disciplinary program. The school, which encourages compliance, says other students obey the rules.

“I'm glad they're listening,” George said AP after hearing. “I'm glad things are moving forward and we're getting past this.” George's mother, Daressa, said she wished the judge had granted her son a restraining order that would have allowed him to return to the classroom until the trial.

“The point is simple: we have a lot of students who wear hair clips and comply with the male hair length policy,” said David Bloom, Barber Hill ISD Director of Communications. Rolling rock. “We have ONE that does not.”

“We filed for a declaratory judgment because of our belief that Barber Hill's dress code does not violate the CROWN Act,” said Barber Hill ISD Superintendent Dr. Greg Poole in a statement. “Texas law states that there can be no implied meaning with interpretive statutes. The CROWN Act says nothing about hair length, and State Rep. Rhetta Bowers, the lead author of the law, publicly stated in a television interview that the bill was never intended to protect hair length. The CROWN Act was intended to allow braids, twists or twists, which the region has always allowed. The law was never intended to allow unrestricted student expression.”

The CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, prohibits discrimination based on hair based on race. It came into effect in September. Barber Hill Superintendent Greg Poole placed an ad on Houston Chronicle, claiming the district is not breaking the law. “Being American requires conformity,” he wrote.

“The hair of male students shall not, under any circumstances, extend below the eyebrows or below the earlobes,” it states school dress code. “Male students' hair must not extend below the top of a shirt collar or be gathered or worn in a manner that allows the hair to extend below the top of the collar, below the eyebrows or below the ear pods when frustrated.”

The two state representatives who wrote the CROWN Act, Rhetta Bowers and Ron Reynolds, told the AP that the law protects George's hair. “[The school] is punishing Daryl George for one reason: his choice to wear his hair in a protective style that does not harm anyone and is not a distraction in class,” Bowers said.

“All I want to do is go to school and be a model student,” George wrote in an affidavit seeking a restraining order. “I am being harassed by school officials and treated like a dog.”

“His roots represent his roots, represent his soul, his ancestors, his heritage,” Darresha said Rolling rock last year. “It's his culture. Not only does he have his hair in his hair, but he also has the hair of his ancestors woven into the ends of his hair. Cutting it off, then, cuts them out of his life. And that's not fair to ask someone to do.”

George's family has filed a complaint with the Texas Department of Education and a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging the school district, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have failed to enforce the law. A federal judge in Galveston is reviewing the filing.

“He feels like he's trapped, like he's in prison,” Darresha said Rolling rock in October. “It's like he's locked up. He was already staying behind. And now he's trying to play catch up and it's hard to do that when you're already behind.”

Two students, De'Andre Arnold and Kaden Bradford, previously sued the school district in 2020, alleging that the school's hair policy, which went into effect in the middle of the year, targeted them. A judge granted them an injunction allowing them to return to class.