Trial to begin in Houston-area CROWN Act case

A trial will begin Thursday to determine whether Barbers Hill ISD is violating Texas' CROWN Act after the district suspended a Black student over his hair, which is in dreadlocks.

Catch up fast: Darryl George, a junior at Barbers Hill High School, has been in in-school suspension or at an off-site disciplinary program for most of the school year because of his refusal to change his hairstyle.

• The district, about 30 miles from Houston, said Darryl's hair violates a hair-length policy that says male students' hair cannot extend past the eyebrows or earlobes.

What's happening: George's mother and the family's attorney have denied that his hairstyle violates the district's policy, saying his hair is neatly tied in twisted locs on top of his head, per NBC .

Context: Texas is one of more than 20 states that have passed a version of the CROWN Act, which stands for Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. It bans race-based hair discrimination at state-funded institutions, including public schools.

• Gov. Greg Abbott signed the act, or House Bill 567, in May, and it went into effect Sept. 1 — a day after George was suspended.
• George's family filed a lawsuit against Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, saying they failed to enforce the new law.

The other side: The district has maintained its position, arguing the dress code is not in violation of the CROWN Act. In the fall, the district filed a lawsuit to clarify how the CROWN Act relates to hair length policies.

• "The Texas CROWN Act protects hair texture and the wearing of braids, twists, and locs. Those with agendas wish to make the CROWN Act a blanket allowance of student expression. Again, we look forward to this issue being legally resolved," Barbers Hill ISD Superintendent Greg Poole said in a statement to NBC News.

Flashback: Barbers Hill ISD is the district that sparked the push for the CROWN Act in Texas after officials gave another student, DeAndre Arnold, an in-school suspension and barred him from attending his graduation ceremony in 2020 over his locs.

What they're saying: "I wrote the CROWN Act, I filed it, to stop exactly the kind of discrimination that we are seeing right here in Barbers Hill ISD," state Rep. Rhetta Bowers, a Democrat from the Dallas area, said. "Barbers Hill ISD is punishing Darryl George for one reason: his choice to wear his hair in a protective style, which harms no one and causes no distraction in the classroom."

• "I'm glad that we are being heard too. I'm glad that things are moving and we're getting through this," Darresha George told the Associated Press .

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