Darryl George, a 19-year-old Black student from Texas, has been denied court protection that would allow him to attend school while wearing his dreadlocks, a hairstyle that school officials deemed a violation of their dress code.
Judge Jeffrey Brown ruled against George’s request for a temporary restraining order, which he filed to avoid suspension from Barbers Hill High School in the Houston area.
George’s struggle began in August 2023 when school administrators suspended him for wearing dreadlocks that extended below his collar.
Although George’s family argued that his hair holds cultural significance, the school enforced its dress code, which restricts hair length, stating it cannot go “below the top of a T-shirt collar, below the eyebrows, or below the ear lobes when let down.”
George’s disciplinary measures included in-school suspension and attendance in an off-campus program, where he reportedly had to sit on an uncomfortable stool for extended periods.
Judge Brown’s decision to deny the restraining order cited George’s delay in filing as a reason.
Consequently, George was forced to transfer to a different school after facing immediate suspension upon returning to Barbers Hill this academic year. Despite this ruling, George and his mother have vowed to continue their federal lawsuit, challenging the school’s actions under Texas’s CROWN Act.
The CROWN Act, which came into effect in September 2023, prohibits race-based hair discrimination, specifically protecting hairstyles like dreadlocks.
However, earlier this year, a state judge ruled that George’s suspension did not violate this law.
George’s case raises critical questions about the scope of the CROWN Act and the boundaries of dress codes, especially regarding protective hairstyles within Black communities.
