Current:Home > ScamsA Black student’s family sues Texas officials over his suspension for his hairstyle -Zenith Profit Hub
A Black student’s family sues Texas officials over his suspension for his hairstyle
SafeX Pro Exchange View
Date:2025-04-10 03:04:12
HOUSTON (AP) — The family of a Black high school student in Texas on Saturday filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state’s governor and attorney general over his ongoing suspension by his school district for his hairstyle.
Darryl George, 17, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, has been serving an in-school suspension since Aug. 31 at the Houston-area school. School officials say his dreadlocks fall below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violate the district’s dress code.
George’s mother, Darresha George, and the family’s attorney deny the teenager’s hairstyle violates the dress code, saying his hair is neatly tied in twisted dreadlocks on top of his head.
The lawsuit accuses Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton of failing to enforce the CROWN Act, a new state law outlawing racial discrimination based on hairstyles. Darryl George’s supporters allege the ongoing suspension by the Barbers Hill Independent School District violates the law, which took effect Sept. 1.
The lawsuit alleges Abbott and Paxton, in their official duties, have failed to protect Darryl George’s constitutional rights against discrimination and against violations of his freedom of speech and expression. Darryl George “should be permitted to wear his hair in the manner in which he wears it ... because the so-called neutral grooming policy has no close association with learning or safety and when applied, disproportionately impacts Black males,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed in Houston federal court by Darryl George’s mother, is the latest legal action taken related to the suspension.
On Tuesday, Darresha George and her attorney filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency, alleging Darryl George is being harassed and mistreated by school district officials over his hair and that his in-school suspension is in violation of the CROWN Act.
They allege that during his suspension, Darryl George is forced to sit for eight hours on a stool and that he’s being denied the hot free lunch he’s qualified to receive. The agency is investigating the complaint.
Darresha George said she was recently hospitalized after a series of panic and anxiety attacks brought on from stress related to her son’s suspension.
On Wednesday, the school district filed its own lawsuit in state court asking a judge to clarify whether its dress code restrictions limiting student hair length for boys violates the CROWN Act.
Barbers Hill Superintendent Greg Poole has said he believes the dress code is legal and that it teaches students to conform as a sacrifice benefiting everyone.
The school district said it would not enhance the current punishment against Darryl George while it waits for a ruling on its lawsuit.
The CROWN Act, an acronym for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” is intended to prohibit race-based hair discrimination and bars employers and schools from penalizing people because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including Afros, braids, dreadlocks, twists or Bantu knots. Texas is one of 24 states that have enacted a version of the act.
A federal version of it passed in the U.S. House last year, but was not successful in the Senate.
Darryl 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 dreadlocks in 2020. The two students’ families sued the school district in May 2020, and a federal judge later ruled the district’s hair policy was discriminatory. Their case, which garnered national attention and remains pending, helped spur Texas lawmakers to approve the state’s CROWN Act law. Both students withdrew from the school, with Bradford returning after the judge’s ruling.
___
Follow Juan A. Lozano on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70
veryGood! (6)
Related
- 'Most Whopper
- Inquiry into New Zealand’s worst mass shooting will examine response times of police and medics
- At least 16 people killed when a boat caught fire in western Congo, as attacks rise in the east
- 'We earned the right': Underdog Diamondbacks force winner-take-all NLCS Game 7 vs. Phillies
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- China announces the removal of defense minister missing for almost 2 months with little explanation
- Fountain electrocution: 1 dead, 4 injured at Florida shopping complex
- Possible motive revealed week after renowned Iranian film director and wife stabbed to death
- Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
- Ukraine’s leader says Russian naval assets are no longer safe in the Black Sea near Crimea
Ranking
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- A radio burst traveled 8 billion years to reach Earth. It's the farthest ever detected.
- Polish opposition groups say Donald Tusk is their candidate for prime minister
- Atlanta firefighter and truck shortages prompt the city to temporarily close 3 fire stations
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- Britney Spears Details Postpartum Depression Struggles After Welcoming Sons Sean and Jayden Federline
- Slovakia’s president is ready to swear in a new Cabinet after partner replaces ministry nominee
- Inquiry into New Zealand’s worst mass shooting will examine response times of police and medics
Recommendation
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
Fountain electrocution: 1 dead, 4 injured at Florida shopping complex
The damage to a Baltic undersea cable was ‘purposeful,’ Swedish leader says but gives no details
Jana Kramer Shares the Awful Split that Led to Suicidal Ideation and More Relationship Drama in New Book
This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
The damage to a Baltic undersea cable was ‘purposeful,’ Swedish leader says but gives no details
Tennessee GOP is willing to reject millions in funding, if it avoids complying with federal strings
Dog owners care more about their pets than cat owners, study finds