MO Senate Looking At Bills For Discrimination On Hairstyles And Modifications To Marriage Rules

With the halfway mark of this year’s General Assembly upon us, the Missouri Senate is considering one bill to prohibit discrimination in school based on a student’s hair style and another bill modifying provisions of marriage.

Among those pieces of legislation moving through the process this year is Senate Bill 66.

Missouri Senate Majority Floor Leader Tony Luetkemeyer of Parkville says this measure would modify provisions relating to the age of marriage…

“We actually just passed another piece of legislation that banned child marriages, so an individual cannot get married until they’re age 18….I think that’s appropriate…That was a bi-partisan piece of legislation.”

Another is Senate Bill 38.

Senator Barbara Anne Washington of Kansas City is the sponsor.

She says her proposal seeks to create the “Missouri Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, or CROWN, Act” to prohibit certain discriminatory practices as they relate to hairstyles in elementary and secondary schools…

“Being kicked out of school, being treated unfairly…bullied…preventing from doing extracurricular activities, such as proms, people who say “not in our state”…there were states where they couldn’t graduate until they cut their hair.”

The Missouri Senate remains on its annual mid-session recess through this week.

After lawmakers return to Jefferson City on March 24, focus will later shift to the Fiscal Year 2026 state operating budget, which has to be finished by May 9.