How school dress codes intersect with new laws against race-based hair discrimination
Dr. Candice Matthews, left, listens as state representative Ron Reynolds, right, with Darryl George, center, makes comments before a hearing regarding George's punishment for violating school dress code policy because of his hair style, Thursday Feb. 22, 2024 at the Chambers County Courthouse in Anahuac, Texas. A judge has ruled that George's monthslong punishment by his Texas school district for refusing to change his hairstyle does not violate a new state law prohibiting race-based hair discrimination. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via AP)
By CHEYANNE MUMPHREY AP Education Writer
A judge last week ruled that a Black high school student’s monthslong punishment by his Texas school district for refusing to change his hairstyle does not violate a new state law prohibiting race-based hair discrimination. The decision is refueling debates over district and school dress code policies and the CROWN Act.
Darryl George, 18, hasn’t been in his regular classes at his Houston-area high school since August. His school district says he’s violating its policy limiting the length of boys’ hair. George wears his hair in tied and twisted locs on top of his head, and his attorney says his hairstyle should be protected by the CROWN Act.
The CROWN Act, an acronym for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” is intended to prohibit race-based hair discrimination and bars employers and schools from penalizing people because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including Afros, braids, dreadlocks, twists or Bantu knots.
Versions of the CROWN Act have been enacted in 24 states, including Texas, New York, Oregon and Illinois. California was the first state to pass the bill after it was introduced by Democratic state Sen. Holly Mitchell and signed into law in 2019. The inaugural CROWN Act expanded the definition of race in the Fair Employment and Housing Act and state education code to ensure protection against hair discrimination in workplaces and K-12 public and charter schools.
Federal legislation was first introduced by Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey in 2021. It passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a 235-189 vote in March 2022 but failed in the Senate.
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FIND YOUR STATE: CROWN ACT LEGISLATION
The following states have passed a version of the CROWN Act against hair-based racial discrimination:
ALASKA
ARIZONA
ARKANSAS
CALIFORNIA
COLORADO
CONNECTICUT
DELAWARE
ILLINOIS
LOUISIANA
MAINE
MARYLAND
MASSACHUSETTS
MICHIGAN
MINNESOTA
NEBRASKA
NEVADA
NEW JERSEY
NEW MEXICO
NEW YORK
OREGON
TENNESSEE
TEXAS
VIRGINIA
WASHINGTON
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ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND
Schools in the U.S. often have dress codes that include vague language, such as prohibiting “unkept” or “ungroomed” styles, with enforcement left up to the judgment of individual administrators. Punishments for dress code violations, which often affect students of color disproportionately, can include suspensions and expulsions that take them away from the classroom with profound effects for learning.
Braids and other protective hairstyles carry cultural significance for many Black Americans specifically. Hair textures amongst African American people vary greatly and can require chemicals, time and equipment to style or make straight. But many Black Americans have felt pressure to straighten curly hair or keep it cut short in an effort to conform to Eurocentric styles and standards of professionalism.
Hair discrimination not only affects Black Americans but restricted hairstyles impact Native Americans whose hair has religious significance, people who identify as LGBTQ+ who often use hair for gender expression and other marginalized communities.
A report by the Government Accountability Office in 2022 called on the U.S. Department of Education to provide resources to help schools design more equitable dress codes. It found that more than four in five predominantly Black schools and nearly two-thirds of predominantly Hispanic schools enforce a strict dress code, compared to about one-third of predominantly white schools. It also found schools that enforce strict dress codes are associated with statistically significant higher rates of discipline that removes students from the classroom.