Texas judge maintains black student’s suspension from school over dreadlocks

A Texas judge ruled that a school’s disciplinary action against a black student for wearing dreadlocks was not unfair.

Last August, Darryl George, 18, was suspended from Barbers Hill Independent School District because his hairstyle did not follow the school’s rules.

The judge said the Houston-area school did not break a law that stops prejudice against people based on their hair.

The family’s lawyer said they will ask for another court decision.

The student will be suspended and not allowed to go to regular classes at school.

Judge Cain III decided that the school district won after listening to testimony for about three hours on Thursday.

Mr George expressed his feelings of “being mad, sad, and let down” outside the courthouse after the ruling.

The school district has a rule about how long students can wear their hair. It says hair must not go past the top of a T-shirt collar, eyebrows, or ear lobes when it’s down.

However, George did not want to cut his braided dreadlocks. His family said the dreadlocks are important in the black community.

Last year Texas made a law called the Crown Act. It stops people from being treated unfairly because of their hair style.

Darresha George, the mother of the student, complained that the school district broke the new law.

In September, the school district took legal action to solve a problem, and Thursday’s decision was the result of that.

But the superintendent of Barbers Hill High School, Dr Greg Poole, supported the school’s decision. He said that the Crown Act does not specifically mention the length of hair.

Since last August, Mr. George has been getting in trouble at Barbers Hill High School for not cutting his hair.

He got kicked out of class and had to stay in a special school area at school, and then had to go to a different program outside of school.

“His mother told the Associated Press in August that he has to sit on a small chair for eight hours in a small office space. ”

“That feels really bad. ” Every day when he came home, he would say that his back hurts because he has to sit on a stool.

Barbers Hill ISD has been in the news because of problems with its dress code for black students.

De’Andre Arnold and Kaden Bradford had to cut their long, twisted hair in 2020, so their families decided to take legal action.

In that situation, a judge decided that the district’s hair rules were unfair.

A law called the Crown Act was approved by the House of Representatives in 2023, but it was not approved by the Senate.