Texas school area will not change hair policy that prompted suspension of Black student
DeAndre Arnold was suspended not long ago for the length of his dreadlocks.
Not long ago, DeAndre Arnold was suspended from Barbers Hill High School since his dreadlocks didn’t meet the school area’s clothing regulation and he would not cut them. On Monday (July 20), the school district casted a ballot consistently to keep the grooming policy set up.
“It is evident that this policy discriminates against and harms Black students,” Brian Klosterboer, a lawyer for the ACLU of Texas, said in the statement. “The school district had the chance to examine systemic racism and change its discriminatory policies, but instead chose to continue spending taxpayer dollars to maintain this grooming code.”
Back in January, Arnold disclosed to KPRC that his hair was in consistence with the school’s principles until they modified them during the school year. His mom said they changed their clothing regulation after Christmas break. The refreshed guidelines expressed that “hair must be clean and well groomed” and a male student’s hair could not extend below the eyebrows, ear lobes and the top of their T-shirt collar, even while it’s let down.
Arnold’s suspension collected national consideration. He was welcomed on “The Ellen Show” with Ellen DeGeneres and given a $20,000 grant. He additionally went to the current year’s Oscars nearby executive Matthew A. Cherry, Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union.
“The Board’s decision is very disappointing. DeAndre [has been] forced to choose between [his] right to an education and [his] identity as a young Black man with locs,” said Christina Beeler, staff attorney for Juvenile and Children’s Advocacy Project of Texas. “The Board had an opportunity to be on the right side of history by changing their policy in response to the extensive evidence we provided, but they chose not to do so. Hopefully it will serve as a warning to other school districts as they consider how their dress codes can be more inclusive.”
A legal advisor for the school region says the strategy has nothing to do with race, yet was tied in with keeping up a specific degree of greatness in the schools. That standard incorporates keeping an students hair short.
