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A judge has dismissed most of the claims in a federal lawsuit filed by a black Texas student who was punished for his haircut.

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HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed most of the charges in a lawsuit filed by a black highschool student who alleged school officials discriminated on the basis of race and gender after they punished him for refusing to alter his hairstyle.

The ruling is one other victory for the Barbers Hill School District near Houston, which says its policy of limiting the length of hair for male students instills discipline while teaching grooming and respect for authority.

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But in his ruling, District Judge Jeffrey Brown questioned whether the school district’s rules did more harm than good.

“Not everything that is undesirable, annoying, or even harmful is a violation of law, much less a constitutional problem,” Brown wrote.

The Associated Press on Tuesday sent requests for comment to the school district and to Allie Booker, Darryl George’s attorney.

George, 18, didn’t attend regular highschool classes for most of the 2023-24 school yr, when he was a third-grader, because the school district said the length of his hair violated the dress code. George either served a suspension from Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu or hung out in an out-of-school disciplinary program.

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The district argued that George’s long hair, which he wears to highschool in dreadlocks which might be tied and twisted on top of his head, violated its policy because if left loose, it might fall below his shirt collar, eyebrows or earlobes. The district said other students with dreadlocks follow the policy regarding length.

George and his mother, Darresha George, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit last yr against the school district, the district’s superintendent, the principal and assistant principal, in addition to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The lawsuit also alleges that George’s punishment violates the CROWN Act, a recent state law banning discrimination based on race. The CROWN Act, which was discussed before the George hair dispute and took effect in September, prohibits employers and schools from punishing people because of their hair texture or protective hairstyles, including Afros, braids, curls, twists or Bantu knots.

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The lawsuit alleged that the school district’s policies were enforced primarily against black students. But Brown said George did not reveal a “persistent, widespread practice of disparate, racially based enforcement of the policy.”

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The lawsuit also alleged that George’s First Amendment free speech rights had been violated. However, Brown wrote that George’s attorney couldn’t point to any case law that held that hair length “is protected as expressive conduct under the First Amendment.”

Brown dismissed various claims that George’s due process rights under the 14th Amendment were violated. He also removed Abbott, Paxton, the district superintendent and other school officials from the case.

The only allegation he upheld was a claim of gender discrimination based on the lack of clearly defined district policies explaining why girls were allowed to wear long hair while boys weren’t.

“Because the district does not provide any reason for the gender distinction in its dress code, the claim survived that initial stage,” Brown said.

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Brown’s order comes after a state court judge in February ruled in a lawsuit filed by the school district that the penalty imposed didn’t violate the CROWN Act.

Toward the end of his ruling, Brown highlighted a 1970 case in which a judge ruled against an El Paso, Texas, school district that attempted to bar a male student from enrolling in the school because the length of his hair violated district policy. The El Paso judge’s ruling was later overturned by an appeals court.

The judge in the El Paso case wrote that “the presence and enforcement of the hair-cutting regulation causes a significantly greater disruption to the classroom learning process than the hair that is sought to be prohibited from being cut.”

“Unfortunately, that is the case here,” Brown said, referring to George’s case.

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Barbers Hill’s hair policy was also challenged in a federal lawsuit filed in May 2020 by two other students. Both dropped out of the highschool, but one returned after a federal judge issued a temporary injunction finding there was a “substantial probability” that his rights to free speech and freedom from racial discrimination could be violated if he was excluded. That lawsuit remains to be pending.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Education

Protect education for a stronger America

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Homeschooling, Education

Freedom begins with an informed mind.


Dr. Russ Wigginton

On the heels of the historical anniversary, our country is reminded of how far now we have come and the way much work stays due to the lens of education. On May 17, it meant 71 years from the choice of 1954, which stated that education should be available to everyone. The recent removal of security by the Department of Justice in an effort to monitor the desegregation of faculties through a court decision within the Sixties in Louisiana and potentially other southern states threatens the spirit of this viewpoint.

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In addition, throughout our country, from underfunded public schools to well -equipped campuses of universities and universities, education is within the face of many serious challenges. One of the most important challenges isn’t only resources, but is the idea of the actual value of education – threats to free pondering and important query. Without these basic principles, we weaken our collective ability to realize our full potential individually and as a community. We risk that we don’t confirm the past, not understanding our present and move to the longer term without a clear purpose and direction.

Basic and medium education are at the guts of this fight. At this point, students learn in regards to the attempts and torments of our country and where they learn to query, empatize and critically think that they were involved in residents as adults. When these possibilities are minimized for young people, we’re all reduced.

Higher education isn’t resistant. Universities – traditional places for open dialogue and strict debate – rise under the pressure of limiting discussions about diversity and inclusion. Professors and students who query conventional perspectives encounter growing resistance. Even our most prestigious institutions are forced to a simplified version of education, which hesitates to confront uncomfortable truths.

This moment requires reflection on who we aspire in the longer term and resistance before returning to the place where we were previously. It is in regards to the behavior of the American tradition of free investigation and a solid debate. Healthy democracy relies on residents who can think themselves, get entangled with different points of view and pull them and the leaders.

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Institutions similar to the National Museum of Civil Rights play a vital role in maintaining this spirit. For example, the Reading Ruby Bridges Reading festival provides children with access to necessary books recognized and emerging authors – including many whose works are banned elsewhere. Ruby Bridges Award Award Award, is an activist for civil rights, who on the age of 6 was the primary black student who integrated completely the White Primary School in New Orleans in 1960. She was born in Mississippi in 1954, in the identical yr the American Supreme Court transferred its field decision, ordering the combination of public schools. The festival is a commitment to making sure future generations of understanding the complete history of the fight and achievements of our nation and to make sure that the voices of young individuals are valued.

History shows us that when education is proscribed, societies turn into more prone to division and authoritarianism. When curiosity and empathy are discouraged, the fundamentals of community and democracy weaken.

Education protection is common responsibility. This signifies that our schools and universities remain places of truth, inquiry and understanding. This means supporting teachers, strengthening students’ position and inspiring leaders to depend on open dialogues than fear.

Freedom begins with an informed mind. By investing in fair education, we put money into stronger, more resistant America. The rates are high. Together, we must select a path of hope, unity and thoughtful commitment.

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This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Education

Board of Florida A&M University chooses Marva Johnson, a lobbyist with draws from Desantis as the next president

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The only historically public Black University of Board of Florida selected a lobbyist with connections with the Republican government Ron Desantis as the next president of the school, Disturbing studentsLecturers and graduates who’re outraged by the Governor’s efforts reduce teaching With History of African Americans AND ban on public universities from using taxpayers’ money to diversity programs.

The Florida A&M University of Florida Voted on Friday to decide on Marva Johnson, director of communication between the charter telecommunications company and a former member of the State Education Council, who advertised her experience in climbing the corporate ladder and moving after state laws. Johnson, which have to be confirmed by the Governors’ Council, was previously tapping in various state boards by Desantis after which. Rick Scott.

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Florida A&M University Presidential Presidential Search in the controversy regarding the candidacy of Marva Johnson

“As a leader, I tell resources. I move mountains if they stand in your way,” Johnson told the board during his interview. “At this point of my career I will not be the best scientist.”

The appointment of Johnson at the end of the controversial and sometimes emotional process, which, as critics claimed, had no transparency and were contaminated by political influence. One member of the board of FAMU resigned after suggesting the school suspension school to unravel community problems.

Johnson’s supporters said that although he isn’t an educational leader, he is ready to maneuver around the changing landscape of higher education, at a time when public universities are increasingly depending on the political priorities of legislators.

“We have to survive in Florida,” said Jamal Brown, president of the Faculty Senate and a member of the board. “This moment requires someone who understands the systems that finance and rule us, because now our survival depends on how we move these systems.”

The alternative of Johnson got here to the violent opposition of some of the worst supporters of the school who have fun the heritage of black perfection, social mobility and cultural pride.

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“There was a lack of intellectual depth and a gap in a cultural relationship, which was simply painfully glaring,” said the chairman of the board of Kirstin Harper about Johnson.

“In the era of a decision on employment based on merits, how can you justify the decision of a candidate who does not meet all the criteria of the position? Or close the eyes to exceptionally qualified candidates?” Harper added.

The management board selected Johnson in the field of 4 finalists, including the operational director of FAMU, Donald Palm, who was a clear favorite from the open contingent of students and supporters of the University, and who was supported by the impact of the school at college Association of Graduates.

“When you do not have your students, lecturers and graduates behind you, regardless of their relationships, it is a recipe for a disaster”, a film producer and Alum Will Packer told the board before voting. “Do not set Marva Johnson to fail. Do not put her able to take over the home seriously divided.”

Johnson’s nomination appears at a time when public universities are struggling Assembly threats to them country AND Federal financingAnd as officials supervising public universities of Florida – many of whom were appointed by Desantis – they’re increasingly paying former legislators of the republican state Down manage.

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A member of the board of Belvin Perry said that in a conversation with the governor’s employees he didn’t feel any political pressure to decide on a specific candidate. Perry finally voted for Palm, although he thought Johnson’s alternative was inevitable.

“This is a foregone conclusion about today’s vote,” said Perry. “That’s true”.

(Tagstranslate) @Ap

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Dad wants to answer after the son is exposed to gay porn at school

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Columbia University, course

A teacher from Minneapolis is on vacation after one in all his students is a tool that showed gay porn.


A parent from Minneapolis Public Schools, Levi Chapman, demands responsibility after his third son was allegedly exposed to pornography on the teacher’s personal iPad during classes.

The incident took place two weeks ago in Las Estrellas Elementary, when a baby who forgot a laptop issued by a district borrowed a tool from his teacher.

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According to court documents and interviews along with his father, Chapman, the student described a pop -up window showing “a group of naked men on each other” before the teacher intervened and regained the iPad.

“He and another student sat there and they closed the tab. Well, this card that jumped to them. My son described it as” a handful of naked men lying on himself … The teacher approached to see what was happening, and my son said that he was nervous at him and said: “You crumble my personal privacy” and he took an iPad from him, “said Chapman.

Chapman said the teacher Initially, he refused to change In the lender’s laptop, leaving his son “very uncomfortable”, until he finally received the appropriate equipment.

Public schools in Minneapolis have placed a teacher on administrative leave since it studies circumstances that allow access to open content.
In the statement, the district stated that it seriously approaches such allegations and would follow all relevant protocols, but cited the provisions on data privacy and refused to provide further details. “Public schools in Minneapolis treat such allegations seriously and will comply with significant district protocols. These allegations are currently being examined, and due to the provisions regarding data privacy, we are not able to disclose the detailed details related to this incident.”

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Chapman, who also contacted the Department of Education in Minnesota, said that since then the district employees have created a care plan for his or her son and moved him to one other class.

“I would like the teacher to give him the right device from the very beginning,” said Chapman, adding that the family hopes that the district will change the rules on the production of lenders to prevent similar incidents.

The State Education Department reviews whether the incident is subject to the statute of abuse of kids and might proceed the independent investigation. Meanwhile, Chapman and other parents call for MPs to strengthen digital security, implement clear protocols for sharing devices and supply teachers with training in the field of supervising student devices. Because schools are increasingly counting on personal devices in the field of technological gaps, supporters say that solid policies are needed to protect children from inappropriate online materials.

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This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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