On Sept. 8, Sen. Borris Miles challenged Barber Hill School to rescind their actions of punishing a student based on his hairstyle and to revise their current protocols to abide by the CROWN Act.
"I'm calling for Barbers Hill ISD to remove Darryl George from ISS and to revise their dress code to comply with the CROWN Act," Miles tweeted. "It is unbelievable that the district whose actions led to the creation of the CROWN Act is the first to defy the new law."
In late May of this year, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill 567 introduced by Democratic Rep. Rhetta Bowers which stated that school districts, workplaces and housing policies cannot discriminate against their students or employees based on their "race-based hair," meaning a person cannot be judged or punished unjustly for having a hairstyle which is typical for their race, The Texas Tribune reported. This bill was to take effect Sept. 1 and is named the CROWN Act, standing for "Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair."
High school junior George is a student at Barbers Hill who was put on in-school suspension because his hair did not comply with the school's standards that all male students' hair must be above the ear lobes, not hiding the eyes and not on the nape of the neck, KHOU reported. He was said to have broken the school's rule because when his hair is not pinned, it hangs under the height of his eyebrows. Coming so soon after the implementation of the CROWN Act, some activists are calling for Barber Hill to lose its funding from the government if they do not rescind George's in-school suspension.
Miles served in the House for four terms starting in 2006 before being elected to the Senate in 2016. He also owns one of the largest insurance agencies in Texas. Some of his key contributions to Texas government include increasing funding for HIV testing, making it easier for people to seal their juvenile records so they can have a better future, as well as helping to directly increase economic development in his community, according to his profile on the Texas Senate website.
