HOUSTON — The ACLU says about 50 districts across the state have yet to comply with the CROWN Act by updating dress and grooming policies. The organization says it's been nearly a year since the Crown Act became law in Texas and they are now asking districts to comply ahead of the new school year.
The ACLU began sending letters to the districts on Wednesday, July 24, and they said some have already responded.
"Happily, we’ve already heard from a small handful of districts, already pledging to make changes to their dress codes," ACLU attorney Chloe Kempf said.
She said districts will often revisit their dress code policy during the summer.
"We should all be urging our lawmakers to pass additional protections that make dress codes even more fair and equal for all of our students," Kempf told us.
One district not on the ACLU's non-compliance list is Barbers Hill ISD.
Student Darryl George and his family challenged the district's policy on hair length for boys last year. He was sent to an alternative school and wasn't allowed to walk at graduation because he wore locs.
In February, a judge ruled that BHISD's policy didn't violate the CROWN Act.
"But we maintained that policy is discriminatory and violates the constitution and other federal civil rights protections," Kempf said.
State Rep. Ron Reynolds said he became an advocate for the CROWN Act during former Barber Hills ISD student DeAndre Arnold's inspirational fight against the district that led to the new law.
"He is now a senior at LSU. A future veterinarian. He was proudly wearing his locs. And so, he was the one who inspired me and so many people," Reynolds said.
While he's grateful to the districts vowing to make the updates, there's more work to do.
"We hope that all these districts will comply and that we won’t have any student that is faced with that type of discrimination," Reynolds said.
He also pointed out that the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was a staunch supporter of the CROWN Act and she had been working to get it passed at the federal level.