MONT BELVIEU, Texas — A Black 17-year-old Barbers Hill High School student who was suspended over a dispute regarding his hair will spend an extra week at the alternative school he was sent to, according to his attorney.
Darryl George's parents have filed a lawsuit claiming the district's punishment has violated Texas' CROWN Act, which went into effect earlier this year and prohibits race-based hair discrimination. They argued the district was discriminating against George because of his locs.
George's attorney said he was originally set to return to class at the high school Thursday morning, but due to absences for doctor's visits, his time at the alternative school has been extended by a week.
Barbers Hill Independent School District has previously claimed the suspensions have to do with hair length, not style, therefore they did not violate the act. The district prohibits male students from having hair extending below the eyebrows, ear lobes or top of the T-shirt collar, according to its student handbook.
George said he expects the school to suspend him again.
George’s school previously clashed with two other Black male students over the dress code.
Barbers Hill officials told cousins De’Andre Arnold and Kaden Bradford they had to cut their locs in 2020. Their families sued the district in May 2020, and a federal judge later ruled the district’s hair policy was discriminatory. Their pending case helped spur Texas lawmakers to approve the state’s CROWN Act.
Both students withdrew from the school, with Bradford returning after the judge’s ruling.