Texas: The CROWN Act (HB567)
Adopted: September 2023 Bill Number: HB567 Governor: Greg Abbott Status: Enacted
Texas enacted its CROWN Act in September 2023 when Governor Greg Abbott signed HB567, making it the largest CROWN Act adoption by population after California. The legislation extends hair discrimination protections to nearly 30 million residents, covering the second most populous state in the nation.
Key Provisions
Texas Labour Code amendment. HB567 amends the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act within the Labour Code to include hair texture and protective hairstyles within the definition of race.
Employment protections. The legislation covers employment discrimination, prohibiting employers from making hiring, promotion, compensation, or termination decisions based on natural hair texture or protective hairstyles.
Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division. The division has jurisdiction over hair-related employment discrimination complaints under the amended statute.
Texas Context
Texas’s adoption was a milestone for the CROWN Act movement. As the second most populous state and a conservative political stronghold, Texas’s enactment demonstrated that hair discrimination protections have achieved deep bipartisan acceptance. Governor Abbott’s signature was particularly significant given Texas’s influential role in national politics.
With approximately 3.6 million Black residents, Texas has one of the largest African American populations in the country. Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin are home to diverse communities where hair discrimination affects daily life in workplaces, schools, and public spaces.
Texas’s economy is the second largest in the United States and would rank among the ten largest economies in the world if measured independently. The state’s energy, technology, healthcare, and defence sectors employ millions of workers whose grooming policies are now subject to CROWN Act standards.
The Barbers Hill Independent School District case, in which a Black student was suspended for the length of his locs, received national attention and galvanised support for the legislation. The case illustrated the real-world impact of discriminatory grooming policies on students and the need for explicit statutory protections.
Significance for the Movement
Texas’s adoption represented a strategic inflection point for the CROWN Act movement. When the second most populous state, under a Republican governor, enacts hair discrimination protections, the legislation moves from being a progressive priority to a consensus position. The political cover provided by Texas’s adoption makes it easier for remaining states to follow.
For the full movement trajectory, see the CROWN Act timeline. For analysis of how state-level momentum informs European strategy, see Lessons from the CROWN Act for Europe.
For detailed legal analysis of Texas’s CROWN Act provisions, contact contact@crown.ngo.