Black student suspended over his hairstyle to be sent to an alternative education program

https://lemmy.zip/post/3993739

Black student suspended over his hairstyle to be sent to an alternative education program - Lemmy.zip

> After serving more than a month of in-school suspension over his dreadlocks, a Black student in Texas was told he will be removed from his high school and sent to a disciplinary alternative education program on Thursday. > > Darryl George, 18, is a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu and has been suspended since Aug. 31. He will be sent to EPIC, an alternative school program, from Oct. 12 through Nov. 29 for “failure to comply” with multiple campus and classroom regulations, the principal said in a Wednesday letter provided to The Associated Press by the family. > > Principal Lance Murphy wrote that George has repeatedly violated the district’s “previously communicated standards of student conduct." The letter also says that George will be allowed to return to regular classroom instruction on Nov. 30 but will not be allowed to return to his high school’s campus until then unless he’s there to discuss his conduct with school administrators. > > Barbers Hill Independent School District prohibits male students from having hair extending below the eyebrows, ear lobes or top of a T-shirt collar, according to the student handbook. Additionally, hair on all students must be clean, well-groomed, geometrical and not an unnatural color or variation. The school does not require uniforms. > > George’s mother, Darresha George, and the family’s attorney deny the teenager’s hairstyle violates the dress code. The family last month filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency and a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state’s governor and attorney general, alleging they failed to enforce a new law outlawing discrimination based on hairstyles. > > The family alleges George’s suspension and subsequent discipline violate the state’s CROWN Act, which took effect Sept. 1. The law, 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. > > A federal version passed in the U.S. House last year, but was not successful in the Senate. > > The school district also filed a lawsuit in state district court asking a judge to clarify whether its dress code restrictions limiting student hair length for boys violates the CROWN Act. The lawsuit was filed in Chambers County, east of Houston. > > George’s school previously clashed with two other Black male students over the dress code. > > Barbers Hill officials told cousins De’Andre Arnold and Kaden Bradford they had to cut their dreadlocks in 2020. Their families sued the district in May 2020, and a federal judge later ruled the district’s hair policy was discriminatory. Their pending case helped spur Texas lawmakers to approve the state’s CROWN Act. Both students withdrew from the school, with Bradford returning after the judge’s ruling. link: https://www.aol.com/sean-mcvay-says-rams-traded-010748362.html [https://www.aol.com/sean-mcvay-says-rams-traded-010748362.html]

Maybe try teaching the guy more, and caring about his hair less.
But that completely defeats the purpose! (which is the racism)

I don’t think it’s racism, just a school with fucking insane rules that should never be allowed:

Barbers Hill Independent School District prohibits male students from having hair extending below the eyebrows, ear lobes or top of a T-shirt collar, according to the student handbook. Additionally, hair on all students must be clean, well-groomed, geometrical and not an unnatural color or variation. The school does not require uniforms.

Why the fuck schools give a single shit about how kids dress themselves or wear their hair is beyond me.

Those rules are there to be racist, these types of dress codes were literally invented to be exclusionary and/erase culture to “”“assimilate”“” populations of native people.
They don’t want to be communists and they’re literally doing what the communists in my country used to do

They want to be authoritarians, whatever flavor they have to be to have power.

They don't want anyone else to have power over them.

So when they're in the out group, they'll ramp up the persecution narrative, and when they're in power, they'll ruthlessly repress everyone else.

All makes internal sense, if you're an asshole.

They are being authoritarian, likely your country was also under an authoritarian regime in the past based on what you’re saying. Systems of economy are kinda separate
Not remotely communist nor were the folks in "your country" communists regardless of what anyone claims. Always apply the "Is North Korea really a Democracy" test to any such labeling.
Nobody else got downvoted a bunch except you, because you know Hexbear is reading
So… Where is the catalog of approved haircuts for students to pick from? Fucking fascist ideas being masked in bullshit like avoiding fake “distractions” in classrooms.
I’d like to see a catalog of edge cases that would theoretically be up to code but still look outrageous.
I’m sure we could get creative here. Like, you could go with the Friar Tuck look with the top part shaved and that would be fine. I guess it depends on what they consider “geometrical”
I’m more of a Manchu queue style.
The bottom left guy looks a little like a North Korean Tom Hanks.
Ban blonde straight hair and watch the bigots squirm.
I really cannot stand this shit, I remember back in school we had to have approved hairstyles and uniform rules, it was all bs to me. None of that really had any corelation to how good a student was.

Principal Lance Murphy is literally just going to die on this hill apparently. Between the massive cost the school district took because of the 2020 court loss over this exact same thing, and this giant L the school district is about to take for not only being now in Violation of Federal Law but also Texas literally passed a law, because of this asshat and the 2020 loss, indicating that he's not legally allowed to do exactly what he's doing.

The school district also filed a lawsuit in state district court asking a judge to clarify whether its dress code restrictions limiting student hair length for boys violates the CROWN Act

Which if you are unsure if your policy is violating a law or not, you should likely not have the policy until the court gives you more clarity. Because if the Courts do indeed indicate that the school is in violation of Texas' CROWN Act, they've just handed this kid millions of dollars in restitution, which I guess they can just pile on top of the millions this school district has blown so far on litigation.

You would think that at some point taxpayers would be up in arms, but nope it's Texas, blowing billions on stupid lawsuits is their thing.

How does a previous case not automatically make the current situation unacceptable? Do they have to retry the exact same situation over and over again?
Because principal is a bully and willing to use his powers to destroy lives. The methods to protect people are very slow and so he gets away with it for years until the district loses a major lawsuit. Then he quietly gets reassigned or retires and we pretend the entire thing never happened.
Bully and Bigot, a very iconic duo.
I don't trust principals
A previous case is certainly a good argument in court, however the opposition may be able to argue material differentiating circumstances that may not be immediately obvious (in general, not in this case). That is why it isn't considered an automatic win.

if I understand correctly, it’s actually more illegal now, because Texas passed the CROWN act after the previous 2.

I suppose there may be differences that make a difference to the outcome, but it seems unlikely here.

What is the state apparatus for if not funding private interests through frivolous lawsuits?
To be fair being racist has long been a winning strategy in Texas so you can imagine that their bag of tricks isn’t particularly deep in matters like this
I’m not a kid, but looking back on this type of situation as an adult, I’d settle for half of whatever they offer as long as the administrator(s) driving this were also banned from all public education jobs in the state, permanently. Fines to the district aren’t a deterrent to bad administration on their, but fear of job security absolutely is.
Unfortunately in the eyes of racist Texans, they encourage him to take racist actions against literal children.

blowing billions on stupid lawsuits is their thing.

That and blowing money on highschool football stadiums.

And apparently blowing more money bussing people out of their state.
Naw? That’s just… you know, a hobby.
I get that this was an angry post, but it gave me a strong positive energy boost. Thank you.
Fuck it makes me so mad when schools make boys cut their hair. My little brother had to cut his hair that he had been growing since he was in his single digits. It was devastating. This was back in the early '00s
That’s our Fiscal Conservatives. Ready to spend endless money on stupid bullshit but very upset about spending that actually helps the populace.
Nah, they’re not asking. This is a setup for a challenge of the CROWN Act and a possible reversal. Just watch, they’ll appeal it all the way up to Texas Supreme Court if they need to.
Time for the students to protest by having hair that isn’t “acceptable.” I imagine suspending most of the students won’t go over well

What does geometric even mean? Cubes? Dodecahedrons?

Can we call it a dodecahedron-o-do?

Edit: kids should start styling their hair into cubes, in protest. “The rules say it must be geometrical!”

I think they mean you gotta have a hairstyle that looks like it was directly pulled from a N64 era video game
wait… n64 characters weren’t all just bald…?
Basically, take Ramiel’s hairstyle as an example.
Of course it’s Texas.
Ah, so Texas is pulling an Iran. Stay classy, lone star state.
This is north korean level bullshit.
These Are North Korea’s 28 State-Approved Hairstyles | TIME.com

It looks a lot of this year's male Oscar winners wouldn't survive the Communist state of North Korea without a haircut.

TIME.com

Honestly I think you are giving them a pass with the hypberbole, though I know that's not your intent.

This is good ol' American Style bigotry and racism.

No, this is American level racism.
I’m the whitest dude you ever saw, and it’s even obvious to me: black hair is different, at a molecular level. You can’t mindlessly apply grooming standards to people who are not the same, physically. Not better, not worse (obviously), just different. These people are racist.
Well, much larger than molecules, at the strand of hair level. Very wavy or curly hair has an oval profile while straight hair is round.
Ah yes, lets punish and humiliate a person for expressing a completely harmless form of individuality at point in their lives where individuality is exceedingly important for healthy development. This won’t have any negative consequences at all.
Give this mf a modeling job damn! Look at that blue steel!

Random thoughts:

Disgust at the principal.

How is this not race based discrimination?

Why is a state law protecting from race based discrimination even necessary when the constitution should do that already?

I’m impressed Texas passed an anti-discrimination law aimed at protecting an oppressed group.

How is this not sex based discrimination?

Kinda funny that its called *Barbers’ hill"

Darryl George, 18, is a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu and has been suspended since Aug. 31.

The man is 18. You can’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do. He should just take his GED.

Hairstyle has been used TONS in the past as an excuse to be a racist pile of shit

buuuut 18, junior? That’s grade 11? I feel like there’s more to this story.

buuuut it’s Texas. So I have no idea.

Yea idk, being a bad student doesn’t mean the school should be able to dictate your haircut (as long as you aren’t having a hygiene problem. Young man looks fine in this photo).
I HEARTILY agree with you. I’m just saying I strongly believe there’s more to this story than the school being like “ur sus cuz of your hair” but then it’s Texas, so that could totally be the case, and it’s actually just a coverup for their racism.
Kinda hard to get a good education when the whole system is holding you back. Even if this kid had actual behavior problems, whose fault do you really think that is, the parents that are fighting for him or the system that is actively against him, trying to physically mutilate his identity, and seems to be putting him on a fast track to a for-profit prison?

What a shithole.

Hope he gets into a college as far away as possible.