A Black high school student who was suspended over his locs hairstyle and his mother have sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the states attorney general for allegedly failing to enforce the states CROWN Act, a law that protects against hair discrimination.
Darryl George, a 17-year-old student at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, has been suspended for more than three weeks because officials said his locs which he often wears in braids or a ponytail violate the Barbers Hill Independent School Districts dress code for male students.
The policy does not prohibit students from wearing locs or braids, but it does place limitations on hair length for male students, stating hair cannot be 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.
But the federal civil rights lawsuit, filed Saturday in the Texas Southern District Court, argues that Darryls suspension is a violation of the states CROWN Act, a law that prohibits discrimination against hair texture and protective hairstyles like locs and braids that are commonly or historically associated with race.
It also alleges that Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have failed to enforce the law, which went into effect on September 1.
The lawsuit notes the plaintiffs are seeking an injunction against Abbott and Paxton to compel them to stop the district from exposing their students to disciplinary punishment and disciplinary measures due to locs, braid, twists and other protective styles that are alleged to be or that are longer than the District or schools length requirement.
CNN has reached out to Abbotts and Paxtons office for comment on the lawsuit, as well as the attorneys for the Barbers Hill Independent School District.
The filing comes days after the district asked a Texas court to clarify if its dress code violates the CROWN Act.
Although we believe the new law does not govern hair length, we are asking the judicial system of Texas to interpret, Barbers Hill Superintendent Greg Poole said in a statement on Wednesday.
Georges family has previously said they were told Darryl will be sent to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program, also known as an alternative school, if he refuses to cut his hair. The family told CNN his locs are intertwined with strands from his grandfather and father and that they do not intend to cut them off.
Kinda wild that school districts have no power whatsoever to force students to wear masks but when when it comes to regulating hairstyles for black students they have all the power in the world. I wonder what the difference is.