Alaska Seeks Bill to Prohibit Hair Discrimination in Schools

The CROWN Act’s influence continues to ripple through the country. Alaska is seeking a bill to ban school districts from adopting dress codes that don’t account for Black hairstyles and wearing traditional regalia at graduation, reported Associated Press. The bill would also be expanded to businesses.

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The bill passed the Senate in March of this year placing restrictions on businesses in addition to schools, reported AP News. Per the bill, workplace dress codes could not bar employees from wearing hairstyles “commonly or historically associated with race.” Though, the House stripped the section regarding business restrictions and tailored the bill specifically to school dress codes.

The Senate agreed to their changes.

More from the bill:

Sec. 14.03.135. Dress code; natural hairstyles. (a) A governing body may not adopt a school dress code that

(1) prohibits a student from wearing a hairstyle that is associated with race;

(2) prohibits a student from wearing a natural hairstyle, regardless of the student’s hair texture or type; in this paragraph, “natural hairstyle” includes braids, locs, twists, tight coils, afros, cornrows, and bantu knots;

(3) requires a student to permanently or semipermanently alter the student’s natural hair; or

(4) prohibits a student from wearing traditional tribal regalia or objects of cultural significance at a graduation ceremony. (b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, a governing body may adopt a school dress code that restricts student hairstyles if the restriction is necessary to comply with a health or safety law, regulation, or ordinance

Sen. David Wilson sponsored the bill, saying on the floor that “no matter how incremental this is” he would support it. He also referenced the deleted section regarding businesses, adding that “racism in the workplace is not going away,” per AP News. Well, consider the amount of lawsuits that were filed against companies for firing employees over their hair.

The bill is set to go to the governor next.