Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB 225: Education; discrimination on the basis of an individual's race due to a protective hairstyle, or length thereof, in any student dress or grooming policy; prohibit

Last action February 21, 2025 · Senate Read and Referred

A Georgia Senate bill would bar schools and colleges that receive state money or enroll students getting state financial aid from discriminating against students based on protective hairstyles like braids, locs, twists, and afros.

The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.

In plain language

Currently, Georgia law does not explicitly say whether student dress or grooming policies can penalize hairstyles like braids, locs, twists, or afros that are closely tied to race. This bill adds a new section to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated addressing that gap for educational institutions. The bill defines discrimination broadly, covering exclusion, restriction, segregation, or unequal treatment based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or age. It defines a protective hairstyle as braids, locs, twists, afros, or other textured hairstyles tied to race, color, or national origin, and clarifies that hair texture and protective hairstyles count as traits associated with race. The core rule bars any student dress or grooming policy, program, or activity at a covered school from discriminating against a student because of a protective hairstyle or its length. The rule applies to any educational institution that gets state financial assistance or enrolls students who receive state student financial aid. The bill does not specify an effective date beyond standard enactment upon passage and signature.

What the bill does

Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 20-1-12) banning discrimination in student dress or grooming policies based on protective hairstyles or their length.
Defines 'protective hairstyle' to include braids, locs, twists, afro, or other textured hairstyles tied to race, color, or national origin.
Expands the legal definition of 'race' for this purpose to explicitly include hair texture and protective hairstyles.
Applies the ban to any educational institution that receives or benefits from state financial assistance or enrolls students receiving state student financial aid.
Carries over a broad general definition of 'discrimination' covering race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and age, with a religious accommodation exception for institutions facing undue hardship.

Who it affects

Public and private schools, colleges, and universities in Georgia that receive state funding or enroll students who get state financial aid, along with the students, parents, and school administrators who set or are subject to dress and grooming codes at those institutions.

Why it matters

Students with braids, locs, twists, or afros could no longer be disciplined, excluded, or restricted under school dress and grooming codes because of those hairstyles, giving them a legal basis to challenge such policies at schools and colleges that receive state funding or aid.

Key provisions

Section 1 adds new Code Section 20-1-12 to Article 1 of Chapter 1 of Title 20, covering general education provisions.
Subsection (a)(1) defines 'discrimination' broadly and carves out a religious accommodation exception where undue hardship is shown.
Subsection (a)(3) defines 'protective hairstyle' as braids, locs, twists, afro, or other textured hairdressing tied to race, color, or national origin.
Subsection (a)(4) expands 'race' to explicitly include hair texture and protective hairstyles.
Subsection (b) states the operative rule: no individual may face discrimination based on a protective hairstyle or its length in any student dress or grooming policy, program, or activity at a covered educational institution.
Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

From the bill

“No individual shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of such individual's race due to a protective hairstyle, or length thereof, in any student dress or grooming policy, program, or activity conducted by an educational institution that receives or benefits from state financial assistance, or enrolls students who receive state student financial aid.”
This is the bill's core rule banning hairstyle-based discrimination in school dress and grooming policies.

“'Protective hairstyle' means braids, locs, twists, afro, or other textured hairdressing associated with an individual's race, color, or national origin.”
This defines which hairstyles are protected under the new law.

Status timeline

2025-02-21Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2025-02-20Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

school dress codes
hair discrimination
education civil rights
student grooming policies

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