HOUSTON — A trial over whether a Houston-area school violated the CROWN Act by suspending a high school student over his dreadlocks hairstyle starts Thursday in Anahuac, Texas.

What You Need To Know

  • A trial over whether a Houston-area school violated the CROWN Act by suspending a high school student over his dreadlocks hairstyle starts Thursday

  • Darryl George, 18, was suspended from his high school in Mont Belvieu, a suburb of Houston, for wearing his hair in twisted dreadlocks last August. He hasn't been in a regular classroom since then

  • The school district filed a lawsuit in the state district court asking a judge to decide if it violated the CROWN Act. The act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” protects people against discrimination based on hair texture and protective styles such as braids, locs, twists and knots worn at work and in public schools

  • The school district has defended its decision to suspend George and has maintained in a paid ad in the Houston Chronicle that its dress code policy does not violate the CROWN Act

Last August, Darryl George, 18, was suspended from Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, a suburb of Houston, for wearing his hair in twisted dreadlocks.

The school district filed a lawsuit in the state district court asking a judge to decide if it violated the CROWN Act. The George family’s lawyer then filed a motion to move the lawsuit to federal court.

The family also filed complaints with the Texas Education Agency and a federal civil rights lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton and the school district, alleging they failed to enforce the CROWN Act.

The act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” protects people against discrimination based on hair texture and protective styles such as braids, locs, twists and Bantu knots worn at work and in public schools. Gov. Abbott signed it into law in May 2023 and it took effect in September.

George wears his hair tied and twisted in dreadlocks on top of his head. His high school has said he violated a district dress code that limits hair length for boys by wearing the hairstyle.

Since Aug. 31, 2023, George has not been in a regular classroom and instead has served in-school suspension and spent time in an off-site disciplinary program.

According to the Associated Press, George wrote in an affidavit that he was being subjected to “cruel treatment.”

“I love my hair, it is sacred and it is my strength,” George wrote. “All I want to do is go to school and be a model student. I am being harassed by school officials and treated like a dog.”

The school district has defended its decision to suspend George and has maintained in a paid ad in the Houston Chronicle that its dress code policy does not violate the CROWN Act.

The case isn’t the first time the Houston-area school district was sued over its hair policies. In May 2020, two students filed a federal lawsuit against the district after they were suspended over the length of their dreadlocks. Both students withdrew from school, but one returned after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction. That lawsuit is pending.

A judge will hear arguments at an Anahuac court on Feb. 22 on whether the district can continue to punish George over his hairstyle.