Black student disciplined over hairstyle hopes to 'start being a kid again'

FILE - Darryl George, center left, a 17-year-old junior, and his mother Darresha George, center right, share words of encouragement before walking across the street to go into Barbers Hill High School after Darryl served a 5-day in-school suspension for not cutting his hair Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, in Mont Belvieu. George began attending a disciplinary program this week away from his classmates and regular teachers.

By the time George is allowed to return to Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas, in November, he will have missed 56 of 67 days of regular classroom instruction to start his junior year. The family has filed aalleging the state failed to enforce a new law outlawing discrimination based on hairstyles.

Barbers Hill Superintendent Greg Poole said Friday in an email to the AP that officials cannot disclose the infractions that led to George's current placement, but it was not because of his hair. Dress code and hair violations disproportionately affect students of color, said Ashley Sawyer, senior staff attorney at the Advancement Project, a civil rights advocacy organization. She said students are pressured to conform to standards that may not factor in their culture and heritage, such as wearing natural hair.

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