Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
02/16/2022 09:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s) | |
| SB174 | |
| SB34 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 34 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 174 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 112 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 174-ALLOW NATURAL HAIRSTYLES
9:14:48 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 174 "An Act relating to dress
codes and natural hairstyles."
9:15:21 AM
SENATOR DAVID WILSON, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska,
stated that this legislation prohibits schools and workplaces
from establishing dress codes that restrict someone from wearing
their natural hair. No employee or student should be prohibited
from participating in work or attending school because they are
wearing natural hair. SB 174 defines what standards are
unacceptable for school districts and employers to place on
hairstyles. He stated testimony would be given on why SB 174 is
essential.
9:16:25 AM
JASMINE MARTIN, Staff, Senator David Wilson, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, presented the sectional analysis
for SB 174 as follows:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Section 1: Adds a new section (.135. Dress code;
natural hairstyles) to AS 14.03 (Title 14. Education,
Libraries, and Museums, 03. Public Schools Generally)
This section disallows a school district from adopting
a school dress code that prohibits a student from
wearing a hairstyle that is commonly or historically
associated with race, wearing a natural hairstyle
regardless of the student's hair texture or type, or
that requires a student to permanently or semi-
permanently alter their natural hair.
This bill makes an exception to allow school districts
to restrict hairstyles in any way necessary to comply
with health or safety laws.
Section 2: Adds a new section (.450. Dress code;
natural hairstyles) to AS 23.10 (Title 23. Labor and
Workers Compensation 10. Employment Practices and
Working Conditions)
This section is identical to section 1, except it
deals with an employee and employer relationship
rather than school and students.
9:19:16 AM
At ease.
9:19:22 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND reconvened the meeting. He stated technical
difficulties were being experienced and asked for questions from
committee members.
9:20:17 AM
SENATOR HUGHES said she was surprised that in 2022 there was a
need for SB 174. She asked if there was anything that would
inhibit the ability of an employer or school to require a
groomed appearance, including clothing and hair. She stated she
could understand how an employee showing up for work with
uncombed hair could be a problem for a business, but it is not
uncommon for students to arrive at school with uncombed hair.
SENATOR WILSON stated that SB 174 was created to address all
culturally relevant hairstyles such as locs, braids, twists, and
afros, not neatness. He stated his belief that SB 174 is the
best way to address this area of discrimination that plagues
Alaska and the nation.
9:22:05 AM
SENATOR HUGHES stated she did not find any verbiage in SB 174
that would prevent general neatness. She asked for an
explanation of the term "protective style."
SENATOR WILSON stated that definitions would be provided.
9:23:07 AM
SENATOR HUGHES stated the word protective stood out to her
because she once wore her hair in a style that her son said
resembled a helmet. She is confident this is not what
"protective style" means.
9:23:28 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND opened invited testimony.
9:23:50 AM
ALYSSA QUINTYNE, representing self, Fairbanks, Alaska, stated
she is a 20-year resident and is pleased that Alaska's
legislators care enough about the issue to hear her testimony.
Many black people in Alaska suffer in silence, with only close
friends and family to talk. Hair discrimination is just a part
of being black.
9:25:01 AM
MS. QUINTYN noted that every black person she knows endured hair
harassment. While many things have happened to her, she believes
others have suffered even more. From elementary through high
school, students, teachers, and administrators touched her hair
without permission, made inappropriate comments, and asked
inappropriate questions. She stated she was banned from taking
swimming, home economics, and chemistry lab classes because of
her hair. She recalled that she has had her hair cut, burned,
and even tied to a pole. She has also been yanked downstairs by
her hair. Her parents spoke with school authorities, but nothing
happened to address the ignorance and bigotry.
She has also experienced discrimination in the workplace. A
former employer told her not to come to work without her hair
straightened, and human resource policies were written to target
her hairstyle. She stated it is difficult to effect change in
these situations because the employee needs a paycheck.
MS. QUINTYN stated that she has advocated for change since she
was 13 years old. She stated that she served on the district's
diversity committee for three years to educate the school board
about black hairstyles, bonnets, and durags. She has attempted
to explain the need for gang affiliation rhetoric to stop
because it has nothing to do with black hairstyles. It is a
microaggression rooted in fear and targets black and brown
students. She had offered resources and suggestions to make the
dress code more responsible and mindful of student financial
access, culture, and identity.
9:29:31 AM
She opined that dismissing hair discrimination is easy because
if a person does not live it every day, it does not seem like a
problem. School districts and boards do not want to address it.
The city council thinks it is a lower 48 problem. The borough
assembly said there was nothing it could do. So, the last place
to turn was the state legislature and Congress.
She said living in a community that does not understand
discrimination and lacks support is exhausting. She stated she
is hopeful because the two black leaders in the legislature want
to effect change. SB 174 will have started a needed conversation
to stop microaggression and lateral violence even if it does not
pass. She hopes SB 174 will help black children grow up feeling
loved, respected, and celebrated rather than feeling they merely
survived growing up.
9:33:01 AM
ROSALYN WYCHE, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, stated she
has lived in Alaska since the 1970s. She graduated high school
in 1982 and became a hairstylist. She has worked and taught in
the industry for many years. She has five children, and all of
them encountered hair discrimination. Her daughters' braids were
always being touched and undone. Comments would then be made
about the texture and look of their hair by classmates. She
opined that the teacher should not have allowed this. On another
occasion, a daughter had a bad hair day and wore a pink bandana
to school. The counselor requested her daughter be picked up
from school because bandanas represent gangs. Three boys wearing
cowboy hats and long trench coats passed by the office while she
was meeting with the counselor. She explained to the counselor
that pink is not a gang color, and if the boys could wear cowboy
hats, why was her daughter not able to wear a pink bandana to
cover her hair. The counselor replied that he did not make the
rules. During this same timeframe, she said her sons wore long
hair in braids. She was told the look was inappropriate for male
students even though white and Latino male students could wear
long hair. She considered it biased that braids, cornrows, and
dreadlocks were inappropriate, but mullets and perms were not.
She added that black women are often told that the cultural
hairstyles of afros, braids, and locs are not a professional
look.
Her hair academy teaches how to cut and manage all types of
hair. She was pleased to learn about SB 174 because her children
and others should not experience negative influences because of
their hair type. When they leave home feeling great about how
they look, they should return home feeling the same way. She
said tennis star Venus Williams had a game stopped for wearing
beads in her hair. She opined that black people should not be
criticized for the cultural hairstyles they choose to wear. She
said, "Its almost like a society trying to take away every bit
of culture that you have."
9:39:07 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND asked Ms. Quintyne if she ever felt any support
for cultural hairstyles at school.
9:39:28 AM
MS. QUINTYNE replied that, unfortunately, she never felt any
support. As an adult, she has noticed a decline in dress codes
mentioning specific hairstyles. However, nothing acknowledges
that locs, braids, twists, extensions, and wigs are a part of
black culture and hygiene.
9:40:36 AM
SENATOR BEGICH stated that the double standard mentioned during
invited testimony struck him as clearly discriminatory. He
opined that as a Caucasian man, he was never asked to change his
style, even when wearing beads, but he recalls African Americans
being asked to wear their hair differently. He understands and
appreciates that SB 174 is being heard.
9:41:55 AM
SENATOR HUGHES stated she appreciates the eye-opening testimony.
She asked if district policies are what prevents afros, braids,
and other protective and natural hairstyles from being worn. She
stated policies would need to be changed if discrimination was
policy based.
MS. WYCHE stated that written hairstyle policies were enforced
when her children attended private schools, and forbidding
bandanas was district policy.
9:43:59 AM
MS QUINTYNE stated that dress codes are typically found in
student handbooks. However, not having a policy does not prevent
staff from being discriminatory. Having legislation would be
more powerful than policy. It would establish a boundary and let
others know how damaging hair discrimination is to students and
employees.
9:45:33 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked if there are districts in Alaska with
policies that need to be changed and would SB 174 apply to
private schools.
MS. MARTIN replied that she does not have a list of
discriminatory district policies; such policies tend to be
subtle. For example, a policy might say "professional-style" or
only one braid instead of a person cannot wear cornrows.
Problems arise because determining a professional style is
subjective and left to administrative discretion. She stated SB
174 would not apply to private schools since school board
policies do not govern private schools.
9:46:35 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND said that he would prefer SB 174 be made into two
bills, one for students and the other for employees. He reasoned
that enforcement at school is possible. However, the expanse of
the workplace would make it challenging to determine what
hairstyles are cultural and then set a guideline as to which
cultural hairstyles are appropriate for a workplace.
9:47:36 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked for clarity on the exceptions that might
come with health and safety laws, regulations, or ordinances. He
stated he could understand a shop teacher's concern about hair
getting caught in a machine and the need for discretion.
SENATOR WILSON stated that the intent of the exceptions is not
to bypass ordinances, laws, or regulations that a municipality
or other government agency may have. The language in SB 174 was
intentionally left broad to avoid being prescriptive and causing
unsafe situations. He stated he does not want students
experiencing their hair catching on fire like Michael Jackson in
filming a Pepsi commercial.
9:49:16 AM
SENATOR BEGICH noted that SB 174 does not list as many styles as
the 14 other states that have passed similar legislation. He
asked why all styles were not listed, especially since invited
testimony mentioned discrimination against cornrows, afros, and
headwraps. He commented that in 2014 former defense secretary
Chuck Hagel changed military policy to allow certain natural
hairstyles.
MS. MARTIN replied that in SB 174, page 1, lines 8-10, and page
2, lines 6-8, where types of natural styles are listed, the word
"includes" is used. The meaning of "includes" in Alaska's Manual
of Legislative Drafting is not limited to. All styles were not
listed because all natural styles are included. The styles
listed were just examples.
9:51:17 AM
SENATOR BEGICH stated that AS 14.03.135 is public education
code, so SB 174 would not apply to private schools.
MS. MARTIN said that is correct.
9:51:55 AM
SENATOR WILSON thanked the committee for hearing SB 174 because
hair discrimination affects children from pre-K through
adulthood. He stated the next committee of referral would
address discriminatory hairstyle dress codes in the workplace, a
practice he personally encountered. If SB 174 passes, people
will no longer have to suffer in silence in the state of Alaska.
9:52:42 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND held SB 174 in committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Kimberly Bergey Resume_Redacted.pdf |
SEDC 2/16/2022 9:00:00 AM |
|
| Kimberly Bergey Application_Redacted.pdf |
SEDC 2/16/2022 9:00:00 AM |
|
| SB 174 Sectional Analysis v. G 2.10.2022.pdf |
SEDC 2/16/2022 9:00:00 AM SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 174 |
| SB 174 Sponsor Statement v. G 2.10.2022.pdf |
HL&C 4/11/2022 3:15:00 PM SEDC 2/16/2022 9:00:00 AM SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 174 |
| CS for SB 112.pdf |
SEDC 2/16/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 112 |
| SB034_Tribal-Compacting_Summary of Changes _from A to B.pdf |
SEDC 2/16/2022 9:00:00 AM SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 34 |
| SB 34 Tribal-Compacting_Draft CS_ version B.pdf |
SEDC 2/16/2022 9:00:00 AM SEDC 2/23/2022 9:00:00 AM |
SB 34 |