ANAHUAC: A trial is set to be held Thursday to determine if a Black high school student in Texas can continue being punished by his district for refusing to change his hairstyle, which he and his family say is protected by a new state law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination.At issue is whether Darryl George’s monthslong punishment for violating his Houston-area school district’s dress code policy limiting the length of boys’ hair violates the CROWN Act.The bench trial is being held before state District Judge Chap Cain III in Anahuac after the Barbers Hill school district filed a lawsuit seeking clarification of the new law. The trial was scheduled to last one day, with Cain expected to issue a decision soon after its conclusion.The CROWN Act, which took effect in September, prohibits race-based hair discrimination and bars employers and schools from penalizing people because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including Afros, braids, locs, twists or Bantu knots.“I love my hair, it is sacred and it is my strength,” George has said in court documents.The Barbers Hill school district said George’s long hair, which he wears in tied and twisted locs on top of his head, violates its dress code policy because it would fall below his shirt collar, eyebrows or earlobes when let down. The district has said other students with locs comply with the length policy.
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