Legislature(2021 - 2022)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/28/2022 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB174 | |
| SB190 | |
| SB193 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 174 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 190 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 193 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 185 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
SB 174-ALLOW NATURAL HAIRSTYLES
1:33:03 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO.
174 "An Act relating to dress codes and natural hairstyles."
1:33:34 PM
SENATOR DAVID WILSON, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska,
sponsor of SB 174, introduced the legislation with a summary of
the sponsor statement that read as follows:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Senate Bill 174 prohibits schools and employers from
adopting dress codes which disallow students or
employees from wearing their hair in styles that are
commonly associated with race, are a natural or
protective style, or require a student to permanently
or semi-permanently alter their natural hair.
No employee or student should be prohibited from
participating in work or attending a public school
because they will not alter their natural hair. People
of color and ethnic descent are deprived of
educational and work opportunities because they are
adorned with natural or protective hairstyles.
Workplace dress code and grooming policies that
prohibit natural hair, including afros, braids,
twists, and locks, have a disparate impact on people
of color; these polices are more likely to burden or
punish them. People of color, especially Black women,
are targeted disproportionately by workplace and
school dress codes.
People choose to wear their hair as they do for a
variety of intertwined reason, including cultural
connectedness and tradition, protection of hair
texture and growth, or simply preference. Whatever the
reason, hairstyles have absolutely no correlation to
professionalism or work performance.
Senate Bill 174 defines what standards are
unacceptable for school districts and employers to
place on hair. This legislation still allows for the
restriction of hairstyles based on health and safety
laws and regulation. Thank you for your consideration.
I respectfully ask for your support of this
legislation.
SENATOR WILSON noted a question from the previous committee and
explained that the bill does not change any workplace standards.
It simply prohibits discrimination based on a person's style of
hair. He deferred to his staff to provide the sectional
analysis.
1:34:44 PM
JASMINE MARTIN, Staff, Senator David Wilson, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, presented the sectional analysis
for SB 174:
[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.
1:35:42 PM
SENATOR REVAK joined the committee.
SENATOR STEVENS said he liked the bill and then commented on
pant fashions.
SENATOR WILSON noted that the bill had nothing to do with pant
fashions and agreed that some were foolish.
1:36:41 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO asked for the genesis of the bill.
SENATOR WILSON explained that it addresses one of the unspoken
issues that people of color have had to endure in silence.
Policies and dress codes have been established that discriminate
against natural hairstyles. He noted that 14 states had passed
similar legislation outlawing this sort of discrimination. He
related that his office had heard from a broad range of people
affected by such discriminatory policies. He cited examples of
parents being told they should straighten the hair of their
children of color because it looked "nappy," unkempt, or
unclean. He suggested that the invited testifiers could probably
provide real life examples.
CHAIR COSTELLO referenced the language on page 1, lines 9-10
that outlines the definition of "natural hairstyle." She asked
how that definition came about and whether it included
everything that might need to be included.
SENATOR WILSON replied the language does not include all
examples, although the definition was amended in the previous
committee to include additional examples from the Colorado
legislation.
1:39:17 PM
MS. MARTIN highlighted that the bill includes examples but they
are not all-inclusive.
1:39:37 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO turned to invited testimony.
1:39:51 PM
ROSALYN WYCHE, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, stated that
she has been doing hair professionally since 1980. She owns a
salon and beauty school. "Teaching is my passion and in my
blood," she said. She related that a number of her clients have
adopted children of color and have asked for help with their
kids hair because they didn't know how to style it.
MS. WYCHE recounted that authority figures in Anchorage schools
told her sons that corn rows were not the right fit for
participation on some teams and they needed to cut it, whereas
the boy with a mullet hair cut wasnt questioned. When her
daughters wore corn rows they were told their hair was not
girly. She also recalled the time that her daughter wore a pink
bandana on a "bad hair day" and was told to remove it. She
complied and then was told to call her mother to take her home
because her hair was unacceptable. Ms. Wyche related that she
was talking to the counselor about the situation when she
noticed three boys wearing cowboy hats and trench coats walk by.
When she noted the discriminatory irony, he shrugged and said he
didn't make the rules.
MS. WYCHE said that sort of discrimination continues into the
third generation in some Anchorage schools. Just recently her
granddaughter was told she could not wear anything on her head
unless it had a religious affiliation. She said this is
upsetting because it is a double standard. She stressed that
there should not be blanket prohibitions against cultural
hairstyles. She expressed her extreme appreciation that Senator
Wilson introduced the bill that will help to end discrimination
based on natural hair styles. She concluded her comments by
relaying the story of a parent calling to thank a teacher for
telling her daughter that her short very curly hair was
beautiful.
SENATOR REVAK said he did not want to hinder efforts to prevent
gang activity, but he would like more information on current
dress codes in Anchorage schools regarding headdress and
bandanas.
1:46:45 PM
MS. MARTIN explained that every school in the state adopts dress
codes that are unique to the school. Many reference bandanas and
some specifically mention the colors red or blue, but not pink.
She said she did not believe the bill would prevent a school
from prohibiting certain colors from being worn, but it does
prevent a blanket prohibition against wearing a head wrap.
SENATOR REVAK said that helps. He reiterated that he did not
want to hinder schools from protecting students from gang
activity.
CHAIR COSTELLO said the committee could invite school officials
to testify if the members were interested in that.
1:47:59 PM
ALYSSA QUINTYNE, Interior Community Organizing Manager, The
Alaska Center, Fairbanks, Alaska shared that because of her
natural hair style she has been harassed, teased, had her hair
pulled, burned and cut. She has also been the recipient of
inappropriate questions and comments from students, teachers,
coworkers, supervisors, and employers. It is what the sponsor
said, we suffer in silence because there is nobody to talk to
about this inappropriate behavior, she said.
MS. QUINTYNE related that The Alaska Center is the only
workplace where she has not experienced hair discrimination. By
contrast, two places in the Interior instituted policies that
banned her hairstyles after she started to work. Things
typically started with inappropriate and uninformed questions
from coworkers about the hair of people of color. Supervisors
followed up with the same type of questions and she was
eventually pulled into the office where people tried to measure
her braids or touch her hair. As things escalated, she
maintained the attitude that this was inappropriate behavior and
that she would continue to wear her natural hairstyles unless
corporate had a policy against it. In another work place, human
resources got involved and wrote a policy that required her to
straighten her hair or leave.
MS. QUINTYNE stated that when she was on the diversity committee
for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, she
specifically worked to rephrase parts of the dress code to
clarify that associating what students wear on their head,
including a bonnet, durag, head scarf, or head wrap, has nothing
to do with gang activity. Rather, it demonstrates a
misunderstanding of gangs in this country and it stereotypes
children of color.
MS. QUINTYNE concluded her testimony stating that dress codes
and safety protocols exist for a reason and Black people and
people of color have never had an issue complying. The issue is
when employers make assumptions about employees of color based
on stereotypes and discern hostility, gang activity, and a lack
of professionalism. SB 174 protects people of color from these
microaggressions.
1:56:31 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO thanked her for the heartfelt and illuminating
testimony.
SENATOR REVAK expressed appreciation for the testimony.
1:57:34 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO opened public testimony on SB 174.
1:57:49 PM
HANNAH FLOR, representing self, Petersburg, Alaska, stated that
she is White and the adoptive mother of a Black preschool age
daughter. She absolutely wants her daughter to have the freedom
to wear her hair in whatever way makes her feel good about
herself, just like her White classmates. Speaking to the utility
of natural hairstyles, she admitted she initially did not know
how to care for her daughter's hair or understand how Black
hairstyles protect the hair. Ms. Flor said her efforts to learn
about Black hairstyles helped forge a better mother-daughter
bond and helped her daughter feel better about herself.
2:00:11 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO discerned that nobody else wished to comment and
closed public testimony on SB 174.
She held SB 174 in committee for further consideration.