A Texas judge ruled that a school’s disciplinary action against a black student for wearing dreadlocks was not unfair.
Last August, Darryl George, 18, was suspended from Barbers Hill Independent School District because his hairstyle did not follow the school’s rules.
The judge said the Houston-area school did not break a law that stops prejudice against people based on their hair.
The family’s lawyer said they will ask for another court decision.
The student will be suspended and not allowed to go to regular classes at school.
Judge Cain III decided that the school district won after listening to testimony for about three hours on Thursday.
Mr George expressed his feelings of “being mad, sad, and let down” outside the courthouse after the ruling.
The school district has a rule about how long students can wear their hair. It says hair must not go past the top of a T-shirt collar, eyebrows, or ear lobes when it’s down.
However, George did not want to cut his braided dreadlocks. His family said the dreadlocks are important in the black community.
Last year Texas made a law called the Crown Act. It stops people from being treated unfairly because of their hair style.
Darresha George, the mother of the student, complained that the school district broke the new law.
In September, the school district took legal action to solve a problem, and Thursday’s decision was the result of that.
But the superintendent of Barbers Hill High School, Dr Greg Poole, supported the school’s decision. He said that the Crown Act does not specifically mention the length of hair.
Since last August, Mr. George has been getting in trouble at Barbers Hill High School for not cutting his hair.
He got kicked out of class and had to stay in a special school area at school, and then had to go to a different program outside of school.
“His mother told the Associated Press in August that he has to sit on a small chair for eight hours in a small office space. ”
“That feels really bad. ” Every day when he came home, he would say that his back hurts because he has to sit on a stool.
Barbers Hill ISD has been in the news because of problems with its dress code for black students.
De’Andre Arnold and Kaden Bradford had to cut their long, twisted hair in 2020, so their families decided to take legal action.
In that situation, a judge decided that the district’s hair rules were unfair.
A law called the Crown Act was approved by the House of Representatives in 2023, but it was not approved by the Senate.
Tag: black student
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Texas judge maintains black student’s suspension from school over dreadlocks
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49 Ghanaian students on their way to study in elite USA universities
Every year, in the month of March, American colleges release their much-anticipated admission decisions to millions of eager college-bound students from all over the world. These colleges look for high school students from across the globe who are going to accomplish world-changing feats; those who are poised to contribute to their communities and society in general.
This year, 2020, once again, 49 Ghanaians were admitted into elite universities in the USA on scholarships. The admit rates for these schools range from 4.5% to 11%. Some of these schools include Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Caltech, Cornell, Williams, Dartmouth, and others. For instance, the consistently ranked Best University according to the US News and World Report, Princeton received 32, 836 applications for 1822 spots.
These Ghanaian students gaining admissions had very impressive academic records and showed a strong commitment to their extracurricular activities. What stood out for many of them was that they really want to make things better in their communities as well as high SAT scores with 15 of them scoring Top 1 % out of 2.2 million test-takers worldwide. Quite a number had excellent Wassce, or IB or A level scores. They also had leadership roles in their schools and achieved Honors in the Head of State Awards for example. In effect, they have activities in and outside of school spanning from sports, debates, robotics, music, hiking, and varied activities impacting their communities.
Young Reuben Agogoe (St. Thomas Aquinas SHS), Adams Anaglo (Achimota School), Michael Ahenkorah (Akosombo International School) and Schuyler Seyram (Mfantsipim School) for example emerged victorious booking their places at Princeton, Columbia, Caltech, and Cornell respectively. Their stellar student profiles included extensive community service, innovative programs they spearheaded, commitment to academic excellence, and SAT scores in the top 1% all test takers on the SAT in the world.
With the help of AFEX Test Prep, an educational enhancement agency that specializes in preparing students for standardized tests like the SAT, SSAT, GRE, TOEFL, and GMAT located in East Legon with branches in Kumasi and Nairobi, Kenya, these young bright students were adequately prepared to excel in their SAT exams and the college applications preparations. Over the past ten years, AFEX has been successfully assisting African students to secure spots at the very best US and Canadian colleges. In the 2019-2020 application cycle, over 68 Ghanaian and Kenyan students received acceptances with generous scholarships at Harvard, Yale, MIT and other top colleges with the assistance of AFEX Test Prep.
In this difficult time as educational institutions transition operations online, AFEX is excited to announce its online summer classes for the many students home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The online classes are taught by Stanford and Yale graduates along with other seasoned tutors who all scored within the top 1% of all SAT test-takers worldwide, with options for Live Class Sessions, One-on-One tutoring, or a Recorded Video package.
With the remarkable success of AFEX students in this application cycle, the organization is even keener to guide more students through the college application process.
Source: Cedric Kekeli, Contributor