Texas bans hairstyle discrimination

Defender News Service

Te Texas House has overwhelmingly passed a bill that would prohibit race-based hair discrimination in schools, workplaces and housing.

Te lower chamber’s vote took the state one step closer to adopting a law inspired by the experiences of two Black high schoolers near Houston threatened with discipline in the 2019-20 school year if they didn’t cut their locks.

House Bill 567, fled by state Rep. Rhetta Bowers, D-Garland, was voted out of a House committee in late March. An identical Senate bill from state Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston, is sitting in the Senate State Afairs Committee but hasn’t yet received a hearing. Representatives approved the bill with a 143-5 vote.

“I believe how the hair naturally grows out of our heads should have nothing to do with what is inside,”