Barbers Hill ISD responds to ongoing controversy surrounding dreadlocks

MONT BELVIEU, Texas - De'Andre Arnold and his family are continuing to fight for what they say is a violation of their son’s civil right to wear his dreadlocks. 

Barbers Hill ISD issued us this statement today, saying:   

"Barbers Hill ISD has a long-standing dress code, but we absolutely allow dreadlocks. What we do not allow is any action that circumvents or violates the provision regarding hair length. The student in question was NEVER forbidden from attending school. The U.S. Constitution allows a school board the right to implement local community expectations, and Barbers Hill ISD’s continual academic and extra-curricular successes are a direct result of our communities’ high expectations."

De'Andre, who is a senior at Barbers Hill High School, has attended school at the district his entire life, and started growing his dreadlocks in a traditional Trinidadian style for eight years, but it was only recently that he has been found in violation of hair length in the dress code, just a few months shy from graduating. 

Those who opposed and supported the dress code voiced their opinions during the public forum portion at a board meeting Monday night. 

De'Andre’s parents also spoke saying they want the “bullying” of their son to stop. 

“We’re here about De'Andre, but it’s bigger than De'Andre. It’s about all the other De'Andre’s that possibly can come through Barbers Hill, and we don’t want any other parents to have to go through what we have had to go through," said his mother.