Black Texas high school student Darryl George has received another suspension for his loc hairstyle.
The shocking move came after he returned to school Monday following a previous multi-week suspension for the same reason.
George was suspended because his hairstyle allegedly violated the school district’s dress code, attorney Allie Booker, who represents the family, told CNN.
Barbers Hill High School officials reportedly reached out to George’s mother and requested to meet with her to discuss the continued “violations,” giving her a Wednesday deadline to comply.
“What I expect for them to try to do is to put him out of school,” Booker said. “But they won’t do it with our consent.”
The school previously threatened to put the 17-year-old in an alternative school if he refused to cut his hair.
David Bloom, the director of communications for the Barbers Hill Independent School District, told CNN that the district was “unable to provide any comment with respect to disciplinary matters involving a student.”
The Barbers Hill School District states that “male students’ hair will not extend, at any time, below the eyebrows or below the ear lobes.”
But George’s initial suspension came the same week that the state passed a law called the CROWN Act prohibiting hair-based discrimination, including protective hairstyles like locs and braids. The abbreviation stands for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.”
Now, his family is reportedly considering legal action against the school district over the suspensions.
The junior was first given multiple disciplinary notes before being placed on in-school suspension for wearing his locs in a ponytail, said he mother, Darresha George.
In 2020, a similar incident at Barbers Hill High provided the impetus for passage of the legislation when student Deandre Arnold was told he had to cut his locks and he decided to sue the district.
“Absolutely zero excuse for this school district that knows the policy to do this all over again, it feels like déjà vu,” said Texas State House Rep. Ron Reynolds, referring to George’s first suspension.
Other critics of the high school’s decision have noted hairstyles are not just a fashion statement.
“Dreadlocks are perceived as a connection to wisdom,” said Candice Matthews, national minister of politics for the New Black Panther Nation. “This is not a fad, and this is not about getting attention. Hair is our connection to our soul, our heritage and our connection to God.”
With News Wire Services
Evan Rosen
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