Darryl George.Photo:AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi
AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi
The case of a Texas Black high school studentwho was suspended multiple times in the last several months over his twisted locsis headed to trial, according to reports.
A judge on Wednesday ordered a trial to be held on Feb. 22 to determine if Barbers Hill Independent School violated Texas’s CROWN Act when it punished Barbers Hill High School student Darryl George about the length of his locs, theAssociated Press,CBS affiliate KHOUand theHouston Chroniclereported.
The law, which went into effect last September, bars natural hair discrimination at work, in schools and as a part of housing policies.
According to his family, Darryl was placed on in-school suspension in August following the alleged violation of his school’s dress and grooming policy.
The following month, Darryl was suspended again when he had the same hairstyle at school. In October, Darryl’s schooltransferred him to a disciplinary alternative education program, per a letter from the school’s principal sent to Darryl’s family.
In September, Darryl’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, alleging that Darry’s suspension violated the CROWN Act.
That same month, Barbers Hill Independent ISD said that it filed a declaratory judgment lawsuit in September, asking for court clarification about whether the CROWN Act prohibits grooming policies surrounding a male student’s hair length.
“We are here today because we are standing in the gap for Darryl George and his family in reference to the CROWN Act,” Matthews said at a press conference Wednesday, theHouston Chroniclereported. “We are here because racism has reared its ugly head again and this time we’re dropping the hammer of accountability and the scale of justice.”
“I have a son that’s 18 that wants to go to school that wants to get his education and y’all are messing with him, why?” said Daryl’s mother, Darresha George, who also spoke at the press conference, per CBS affiliateKHOU.
Darryl said that he is pleased that his case is going to be heard in court. “I’m glad that things are moving and we’re getting through this,” he said, via the AP.
Allie Booker, the George family’s attorney, filed a temporary restraining order but was not granted one because the judge felt that the issue could be resolved faster and wanted to case to head to trial, perNBC affiliate KPRC.
The Barbers Hill ISD shared a statement with PEOPLE Thursday from its superintendent, Greg Poole, on the issue. “We filed for a declaratory judgment because of the certainty we have that Barbers Hill’s dress code is not in violation of the CROWN Act,” Poole said.
“The CROWN Act was meant to allow braids, locs or twists, which the district has always allowed,” Poole concluded. “The law was never intended to allow unlimited student expression.”
Poole earlier defended the district’s decision to suspend Daryl in a full-page adpublished in the Jan. 14 edition of theChronicle.He noted that “relaxing standards without any regard to academic implication is the precedent it creates,” citing the dress codes at military academies such as West Point and Annapolis.
“They realize being an American requires conformity with the positive benefit of unity, and being a part of something bigger than yourself,” Poole said in the ad.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE Tuesday about the published ad, Matthews wrote: “This is very dangerous and he [Poole] has no business having any type of oversight of children and their educational journey."
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Matthews also shared a statement from attorney Booker. “We are going to seek justice for black males in BHISD [Barbers Hill Independent School District] who have long been and are still being discriminated against,” said Booker. “That is a PRE TEXTUAL excuse…the truth is that they allow white males to wear their hair long, just not black ones.”
Texas State Rep. Ron Reynolds, who co-authored the CROWN Act, also expressed criticism of the school district’s policy. “The lack of accountability from state leadership to Barbers Hill ISD has allowed the district to be the exception for compliance, which has been to the detriment of Darryl George,” he said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
source: people.com
