A judge ordered Wednesday that a trial be held next month to determine whether a Black high school student in Texas can continue being punished by his district for refusing to change a hairstyle he and his family say is protected by a new state law.

Darryl George, 18, has not been in his regular classroom in Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu since Aug. 31. Instead, he has either been serving in-school suspension or spending time in an off-site disciplinary program.

His Houston-area school district, Barbers Hill, has said George’s long hair, which he wears in neatly tied and twisted locs on top of his head, violates a district dress code that limits hair length for boys. The district has said other students with locs comply with the length policy.

In the ad, Poole defended his district’s policy and wrote that districts with a traditional dress code are safer and had higher academic performance and that “being an American requires conformity.”

    • xanu@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      His skin color.

      Hopefully it’s obvious I don’t agree with that statement, but at the end of the day, that’s what this case is really about.

      • Serinus@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Hey, it’s also about power trips and compliance. “You WILL do what I said” kind of thing.

        • grue@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          You say that as if there’s a difference, but really, racism is just a special case of that.

      • frunch@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        The end of segregated schools was not that long ago. Growing up it seemed like forever ago, a whole other time and place. Apparently they’re still on the menu if you go far enough south though