What to know about the Texas trial involving a Black teen punished over his dreadlocks

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Darryl George, 18, has been out of his regular classroom for most of the school year, after his high school suspended him for wearing his hair in long dreadlocks.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-texas-teen-darryl-george-hair-discrimination-trial-crown-rcna139264

A judge will hear arguments on Thursday about whether a Texas school district can continue punishing a Black teen for refusing to change his hairstyle.

Darryl George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, about 30 miles from Houston, has been in in-school suspension or at an off-site disciplinary program for most of the school year. School officials said in August that George’s hair — which he wears in dreadlocks twisted neatly on top of his head, away from his face and neck — violates a district dress code regulating the length of boys’ hair. According to the student handbook, male students’ hair cannot extend past the eyebrows or ear lobes.

George has received letters and messages from people encouraging him and supporting his decision to not cut his hair, the family’s attorney, Allie Booker, said. The 18-year-old has said the support has made all the difference amid the headline-making controversy.....

This is not the first time the district has found itself in hot water over its hair policies. In 2020, two students filed lawsuits after they were suspended over the length of their dreadlocks. Both students withdrew from the school but the lawsuits are pending. One of them eventually returned after a judge granted a temporary injunction for him to return to campus.

This school board is out of control

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Today's lawsuit was a state court case -there is a separate federal case

Today's lawsuit was in State Court in Anahuac which is a very small town east of Houston. I am not surprised at this result. The constitutionality of the CROWN Act was not addressed. I was pleased to see Rep. Ron Reynolds testify about the law he wrote

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Booker said after the ruling that she intends to appeal the decision. She also said she will file an injunction in a pending federal lawsuit filed by Darresha and Darryl George against the school district as well as state leaders.

During the trial, Booker called upon two witnesses: Darresha George and Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, who co-authored the CROWN Act and chairs the Texas Legislative Black Caucus. Attorneys asked George’s mother few questions, only asking her to identify her son and define his hairstyle.

Reynolds, however, was questioned at length as the two sides argued over the intent behind the law. Reynolds said he co-authored the bill because he was disturbed by Barbers Hill’s treatment of DeAndre Arnold, a Black student who was told he couldn’t attend his graduation ceremony at Barbers Hill High School unless he cut his locs. A judge issued a preliminary injunction in that case, blocking the school district from enforcing its policy in that particular case. Litigation is ongoing in the case.

Here is more on the separate federal lawsuit

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https://abcnews.go.com/US/black-high-school-student-suspended-texas-dreadlocks/story

The family of a Black Texas high school student who was suspended over his dreadlocks filed a federal lawsuit Saturday against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the state's Attorney General Ken Paxton for allegedly not enforcing the state’s CROWN Act, a law which protects from hair discrimination.

The family filed the complaint alleging that Darryl George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, has been subjected to "improper discipline and abrogation of both his Constitutional and state rights," as a result of the governor's and the AG's failure to provide equal protection and due process under the law for the plaintiffs; ensuring school districts and schools refrain from discrimination based on race and sex and from using the Crown Act of Texas to cause outright race and discrimination, according to a copy of the lawsuit ABC News obtained......

State Rep. Ron Reynolds (D-Houston), who was one of the authors of the Texas CROWN Act, told ABC News in an interview that he has spoken with the family and offered his support.

"We're going to protect him. They're not in it alone. So, we as the Texas Legislative Black Caucus stand behind him," Reynolds said. "This was one of our top five legislative priorities this session, and we fought like hell to pass it and we won't go quietly in the night."

This issue is not over.

[summer_in_TX]

2. The young man's hairstyle is very attractive. I'm glad he's not bending.

But what a horrible thing for him that he's been subjected to alternative education instead of being able to go to classes with his friends and peers.

[Yellowdog-1966]

3. I don't usually like dreadlocks, but his is sick

Good = sick..LOL
When I looked up the story I expected to see his hair was long and nasty.