Texas: Controversial trial about student's rights

A Texas judge has set a date for a trial to determine whether a school can suspend a student for having dreadlocks.

The case involves Darryl George, a school in Mont Belvieu suspended for the length of his dreadlocks, which are alleged to violate dress and grooming rules. Darryl George's dreadlocks are braided and wrapped around the top of his head. The suspension lasts from August 31, 2023.

In a statement for CNN, Dawid Bloom, a spokesperson for the district, explained that "Until he (Daryl) cuts (his) hair or we get a court ruling to the contrary, he will stay in ISS (In-School Suspension)".

In response, the student's family filed a lawsuit against Texas Governor Greg Abbott and state Attorney General Ken Paxton for failing to enforce the state's CROWN law, which protects against hair discrimination.

Greg Abbott commented on the issue. - The CROWN law was intended to permit braids, curls, or twists, which the district has always allowed. The Texas governor explained in a statement to CNN that the law never intended to allow unlimited student expression.

Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman also joined the case, introducing a federal version of the CROWN Act in Congress. In a statement for ABC News, she said, "The toll this kind of blatant discrimination takes on Black people is both psychological and economic, as hair discrimination occurs not only at schools but in workplaces as well."

- I don't know how to be any more apparent to the people, like Superintendent Poole, who believe everyone must conform to their notions of acceptable appearance. Black people cannot control the way our hair grows out of our heads - added congresswomen.

The date of the trial is February 22. The court will decide whether the Barbers Hill Independent School District violated the CROWN Act.

Soruce: ABC News