Black Teen Suspended Over Locs After CROWN Act Sent To Disciplinary Program

Photo: Darresha George

Darryl George, the Black student suspended twice for his locs around the same time Texas’ CROWN Act went into effect, will be sent to a disciplinary education program amidst a looming legal battle with the state.

According to CBS News, Principal Lance Murphy of Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu sent the 18-year-old’s family a letter on Wednesday (October 11) saying that the student will be sent to EPIC, an alternative school program, for “failure to comply” with several campus and classroom regulations. The program is set to begin on Thursday (October 12) and last through November 29.

The teenager will also be barred from regular classroom instruction until November 30, but he’s free to return to campus if he’s willing to discuss his recent conduct with administrators, reporters learned.

George, who’s a junior at the school, has been serving an in-school suspension over his protective hairstyle after school officials claimed he violated the district’s dress and grooming code. Barbers Hill Independent School District’s policy forbids male students from having hair that extends “below the eyebrows or below the ear lobes.”

“Male students’ hair must not extend below the top of a t-shirt collar or be gathered or 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,” the student handbook reads.

The first suspension happened the same week the CROWN Act, which prohibits race-based hair discrimination in the workplace and schools, went into effect in Texas.

Darresha George, Darryl’s mother, claims her son hasn’t broken any rules and that his hair complies with the dress code. CBS News said George’s family filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency over the high-profile incident. A federal civil rights lawsuit has also been filed against Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, accusing them of failing to enforce the new law.

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