UPDATE: The dress code policy was a topic of debate between parents at a school board meeting in the Troy High School cafeteria Monday evening.

Our partners at News 10 report that board members didn't speak on the issue because it wasn't on the agenda, but Cozart spoke at the meeting and said she hoped Monday would be the last day her son spent in ISS. Another parent, Todd Milton, argued that the lesson here is that there are rules on the books and students are expected to obey them.

The Troy ISD dress code is up for review before the beginning of next year. Perhaps the rules will be adjusted. We'll see.


 

Here we go again.

How many times a year do we hear about a Texas school district having a hair policy deemed discriminatory by parents?

You may remember last year when Deandre Arnold and his cousin Kaden Bradford were told by their school district that their hair was too long and had to cut it.

Arnold, who attended Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas gained national attention after he was told he couldn't graduate because his dreadlocks were too long

Both students felt the policy was unjustly enforced against them, so they filed grievances and lawsuits.

The U.S. District Court of The Southern District later ruled the policy was discriminatory

Deandre Arnold appeared on Ellen and received a $20,000 scholarship and attended the Oscars.

His determination to stand up for what he believed in paid off.

Seems like the same ruling needs to happen here in Central Texas.

According to KWTX, a parent is upset with the hair policy in the Troy Independent School District.

Reportedly, Raymond Mays Middle School's hair policy "forbids boys from wearing their hair in “a ponytail, top knot, bun or similar styles".

Hope Cozart, who is white, is the mother of Maddox Cozart, who has a black father.

Cozart says her son wears different hairstyles to honor his African Heritage, and she has sent a formal letter requesting Troy ISD change their policy, which she feels discriminates against students like her child.

Maddox, a 6th grader, is currently serving a 10-day in-school suspension because of his hairstyle.

Hope told KWTX:

“It’s discriminatory not just to different cultures but to different genders as well, And there are kids out there that are coming out as transgender. What if my son had said ‘I want to be a girl and wear my hair like a girl?’ What would they have told me then?,”

In my opinion, she has a point.

She has hired civil rights attorney Waukeen Mccoy, and threatens to file a claim with the Texas Education Agency if no positive results come from her request for Troy ISD to change their hair policy.

A statement released by Troy ISD didn't specifically say they were changing their hair policy, but did note they will be reviewing their policies for the next school year, as they do every three years.

School districts need to realize it is 2021 and times have changed.

Hairstyles are different than how men (and women) wore them years ago.

Somebody call Ellen! (AGAIN)

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