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.