People considering a move to Delaware typically research housing costs, property taxes, schools, employment opportunities, healthcare and the laws that may differ from those in their current state.
Another Delaware law newcomers may want to understand involves protections against discrimination based on hair texture and protective hairstyles.
In 2021, Delaware enacted Senate Bill 32, legislation that expanded the meaning of race under numerous state anti-discrimination laws to expressly include traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles.
The legislation was signed into law on April 13, 2021, becoming Chapter 13 of Volume 83 of the Laws of Delaware.
The measure is commonly associated with the national movement known as the CROWN Act, an effort aimed at preventing discrimination involving natural hair and protective hairstyles historically associated with race.
For people relocating to the First State, Delaware’s law is particularly noteworthy because its protections were incorporated across numerous areas of state law.
Delaware’s CROWN Act: The Basics
Legislation: Senate Bill 32
General Assembly: 151st General Assembly
Law: Volume 83, Chapter 13, Laws of Delaware
Signed: April 13, 2021
Effective: April 13, 2021
Official title: An Act to Amend the Delaware Code Relating to Discrimination
Under SB 32, Delaware law defines race to include traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and a protective hairstyle.
The legislation defines a protective hairstyle as including:
- Braids
- Locks
- Twists
The use of the word “includes” is important: the statutory language identifies these hairstyles rather than framing the three-item list as necessarily exhaustive.
For newcomers, the practical takeaway is that Delaware expressly recognizes hair texture and protective hairstyles within the meaning of race in numerous anti-discrimination provisions.
What Does Delaware’s Law Mean in the Workplace?
For people moving to Delaware for a new job, the law has direct employment implications.
Delaware’s employment discrimination law prohibits covered employers from discriminating against an individual because of race, among other protected characteristics.
Because Delaware expanded the statutory definition of race to encompass traits historically associated with race—including hair texture and protective hairstyles—employment policies involving hair and grooming can potentially implicate the state’s anti-discrimination protections.
This may be relevant during hiring as well as decisions involving compensation, workplace conditions, advancement and termination.
For employees transferring into Delaware from another state, the important point is that workplace grooming policies cannot be evaluated separately from Delaware’s anti-discrimination laws.
Employers likewise should consider these protections when developing and enforcing workplace grooming, appearance and dress-code policies.
Delaware’s Law Extends Beyond Employment
One of the most important things for newcomers to understand is that Delaware’s 2021 legislation was not limited to the workplace.
SB 32 amended numerous sections of the Delaware Code so that the expanded definition of race applies across a range of anti-discrimination provisions.
Among the areas addressed by the legislation are employment, public accommodations, housing and education, along with additional provisions of Delaware law.
That makes Delaware’s approach particularly relevant to relocators because the protections can touch several aspects of establishing a new life in the state.
What Does the Law Mean for Delaware Public Accommodations?
Delaware’s Equal Accommodations Law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race and other protected characteristics in places of public accommodation.
Under current Delaware law, the definition of race for this purpose includes traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and a protective hairstyle.
A place of public accommodation can encompass establishments offering goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations to the general public, as well as various government entities and other covered organizations.
For someone moving to Delaware, this means the state’s hair-discrimination protections are relevant beyond an employer-employee relationship.
What Does Delaware’s CROWN Act Mean for Housing?
Housing is naturally one of the biggest concerns for anyone relocating.
Delaware’s 2021 legislation also amended provisions of state housing law to incorporate its expanded definition of race.
The legislation added language defining race to include traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles, within applicable housing discrimination provisions.
For renters, homeowners, landlords, property managers and others involved in Delaware’s housing market, this is another reason the state’s CROWN Act should not be viewed exclusively as an employment law.
It is part of a broader anti-discrimination framework.
What Does the Law Mean for Delaware Schools?
Families moving to Delaware should also be aware of the law’s education-related provisions.
SB 32 amended sections of Delaware’s education laws to recognize hair texture and protective hairstyles within the definition of race in applicable anti-discrimination provisions.
For example, the legislation amended Delaware law concerning charter-school admissions so that, for purposes of the applicable nondiscrimination provision, race includes traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles.
The legislation also inserted the definitions into other portions of Delaware’s education statutes.
For families comparing school systems before moving, this provides another example of why understanding state-specific law can be useful in addition to reviewing test scores, school boundaries, programs and extracurricular opportunities.
What Parents Moving to Delaware Should Know
Parents relocating from another state should not automatically assume that school grooming or appearance policies will operate exactly as they did in their previous state.
Delaware’s statutory treatment of hair texture and protective hairstyles should be considered when covered schools develop and administer policies that could affect students.
Families with questions about a particular dress code, athletic policy, grooming requirement or school rule should review the individual school’s or district’s policies together with applicable Delaware law.
What Delaware Employers Should Know
For employers, Delaware’s law has practical implications for workplace policies.
A grooming policy that appears neutral on its face could create legal concerns if it discriminates on the basis of a trait that Delaware recognizes as part of race.
Businesses operating in Delaware should therefore consider the state’s definition when reviewing policies concerning:
Workplace appearance, professional grooming standards, hairstyles, dress codes, customer-facing employees and hiring or promotion requirements.
Employers with operations in multiple states should also recognize that state laws involving hair discrimination are not necessarily identical.
A company-wide grooming policy developed elsewhere may need to be evaluated against Delaware law before being applied to employees working in the First State.
Delaware’s Law Is Broader Than a Single Workplace Protection
The structure of Delaware’s legislation is particularly important.
Rather than creating only one stand-alone workplace prohibition, SB 32 amended numerous existing Delaware statutes containing race-based anti-discrimination protections.
The legislation repeatedly added two key definitions:
Protective hairstyle: includes braids, locks and twists.
Race: includes traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and a protective hairstyle.
That approach incorporated hair-related protections into multiple parts of Delaware’s existing civil-rights and anti-discrimination framework.
What New Delaware Residents Should Know
Several practical points stand out for people considering a move to Delaware.
Employees: Delaware’s employment discrimination protections recognize traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles.
Job seekers: People moving to Delaware for employment should understand that the state’s definition of race expressly encompasses these characteristics.
Employers: Grooming and appearance policies should be reviewed and administered with Delaware’s anti-discrimination laws in mind.
Parents and students: Delaware’s 2021 legislation also amended education-related statutes to incorporate protections involving hair texture and protective hairstyles.
Renters and home seekers: Applicable Delaware housing discrimination laws also incorporate the expanded definition of race.
Businesses serving the public: Delaware’s public-accommodations law defines race to include traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles.
Why This Matters When Moving Between States
Moving across state lines means entering a different legal environment.
Someone relocating to Delaware may encounter different rules involving employment, housing, education, taxes, consumer protection, vehicle registration and many other aspects of everyday life.
Delaware’s CROWN Act is one example.
It also demonstrates why people comparing states should not assume that laws commonly described by the same name operate identically.
New Hampshire, for example, enacted its protective-hairstyle legislation in 2024 with provisions specifically addressing employment and public schools.
Delaware took a different legislative approach in 2021, inserting its expanded definition of race across numerous existing anti-discrimination provisions of the Delaware Code.
The underlying policy issue may be similar, but the statutory structure and scope vary from state to state.
Moving to Delaware Means Learning Delaware Laws
Relocating to the First State involves considerably more than finding a home and changing an address.
New residents enter a different collection of state laws governing employment, housing, education, taxes, transportation, consumer protection and everyday life.
Delaware’s 2021 protections involving hair texture and protective hairstyles are among those state-specific laws worth understanding.
For workers and employers, the central point is that Delaware expressly recognizes traits historically associated with race—including hair texture and protective hairstyles—within applicable race-discrimination protections.
For families, renters and consumers, the law has significance beyond the workplace because the 2021 legislation amended numerous areas of Delaware law.
For people comparing states or preparing for a move to the First State, understanding laws such as Senate Bill 32 provides another piece of the larger picture of what it means to live, work and raise a family in Delaware.
Let’s Move to Delaware News helps future Delaware residents understand the laws, housing market, schools, employment opportunities, communities and practical details of living, working and building a life in the First State.
This article is intended for general informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice.