A judge has ordered 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 his hairstyle.

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.

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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.”

    • RGB3x3@lemmy.worldEnglish
      20·
      9 months ago

      What a fucking weird thing to focus on for a school district.

      Unless of course… They’re funded and lobbied by the Petroleum companies… no, that couldn’t be it…

      • MrEff@lemmy.world
        71·
        9 months ago

        Not really. If you are from Houston you would understand. All of east Houston is petrochem. About 60% of ALL refined oil in America comes from Houston, and specifically the east side. Pasadena (houston) is even nicknamed Stinkadena because of the constant chemical oder in the air. They also employ a large majority of everyone who lives on that side of town. Most of the area around it, Mont Bellview included, has their entire local economies based around support for the oil and gas industry.

        I know people are going to comment about ‘boooo oil and gas, we should switch away from oil!’ And others are going to say ‘that’s disgusting! Think of the poor people trapped to live there!’ But the reality is that is was how the city evolved. With the rise of oil and gas, there was the rise of the refinery towns in East Houston. Without it, they would have never existed. And several of the refineries are making other products than gasoline. If you ever use and lubricants, plastics, crayons, waxes, or ever driven or biked on asphalt, then you use oil products.

        • RGB3x3@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          9 months ago

          It’s fine for a school district to talk about the history of the area, but it’s that last line that’s just really weird. They talk about the petrochemical industry as if the school district is part of it and paid for by it.

          School districts should be separate from corporate interests. Especially from an industry that has done so much lobbying and spread propaganda about their impact on the world.

      • stoly@lemmy.world
        1·
        9 months ago

        Oil is a part of patriotic thought for people down there, believe it or not. It’s why people become angry about public transit and electric cars.

        BTW if you have never been to Houston, just don’t go. It is seriously one of the ugliest cities on the planet–nonstop chemical plants everywhere you look.