Darryl George, a Texas high school student who sued his school for discriminating against him for having locs, was placed in an in-school suspension Tuesday after returning to school. The reason this time? The length of his hair, George’s spokesperson Dr. Candice Matthews confirmed.
The new disciplinary measure from Barbers Hill High School arrived immediately after he served a 48-day stay in a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP) for supposed “multiple infractions of campus and classroom rules,” according to the school.
Back in October, George’s lawyer Allie Booker told Rolling Stone that Darryl’s DAEP punishment is direct retaliation for his lawsuit against the Barbers Hill Independent School District. The September suit accuses George’s school of targeting the Black student’s hairstyle with a discriminatory dress and grooming policy. Black hair has long been an avenue for discrimination in the United States, as it is often considered unkempt or distracting by white-dominated organizations and professional environments.
On Aug. 31, George was pulled out of class and told his dreadlocks violated the school’s policy. The Barbers Hill High School dress code says male students’ hair cannot “be gathered or worn in a style that would allow the hair to extend below the top of a T-shirt collar, below the eyebrows, or below the ear lobes when let down.” George’s locs extend past his shirt collar, but are kept braided up above his lobes.
When George refused to cut his hair, the lawsuit claims he was “unethically hazed” by school staff, kept in in-school suspension, and prevented from accessing free lunch. George’s attorney Booker argues that the school’s actions violate the CROWN Act, a bill adopted in Texas that prohibits “discrimination based on race-based or protective hairstyles.”
Following the news of his in-school suspension Tuesday, Texas Legislative Black Caucus Chair Ron Reynolds told Rolling Stone that the school was “acting in bad faith” by continuing to discriminate against Black students for their hair.
“The spirit of The CROWN Act was passed to protect students like DeAndre Arnold and Darryl George from Barbers Hill discriminating against them for their protective hairstyle regardless of length,” Reynolds said Tuesday. “I will file an amendment to the bill during the next Legislative session that specifically addresses length to stop their pretextual argument to not comply with the CROWN Act.”
“They are acting in bad faith to continue discriminating against African American students,” he added.
Texas is one of 24 states that has passed a version of the CROWN Act, but the suit also accuses state officials of failing to enforce the law adequately. It also notes that no one commented on George’s hair until Aug. 31, one day before Texas’ CROWN Act went into effect.
Barbers Hill High School asked a Texas district court to specify whether the CROWN Act includes policies on hair length. In a statement to ABC13, the school district also added that they would refrain from “enhancing’ Darryl’s punishment while the court’s ruling was pending — a statement both Booker and his mother Darresha say the school has walked back by sending Darryl to a disciplinary program.
“He feels like he’s caged in, like he’s in jail,” George’s mom Darresha told Rolling Stone in October. “It’s like he’s locked up. He was falling behind already. And now he’s trying to play catch up and it’s hard to do when you’re already behind.”
“His locs represent his roots, represent his soul, his ancestors, his legacy,” she added. “It’s his culture. He not only has his locs in his hair, he has his ancestors’ hair weaved into the ends of his hair. So cutting that off is cutting them out of his life. And that’s that’s not fair to ask somebody to do.”