MONT BELVIEU, Texas – Alicia Keys surprised a Houston-area student with $20,000 for “standing up for what is right” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “I want to tell you that I couldn’t believe the story when I heard it,” Keys said on the show. “I’m super proud of you for standing up for what you know is right. Arnold, who has since withdrawn from the Barbers Hill, said he was given two options: in-school suspension or alternative school. They deserve to see me walk across the stage.”DeGeneres and Keys hope the school changes their mind.

The issue is how long the hair of male students at Barbers Hill High School should be. They said that student Deandre Arnold is not the only one being targeted by the district’s dress code. Arnold is Barbers Hill senior who has been told his hair is not in compliance with the district’s dress code. His family said his dreadlocks are part of their Trinidadian culture, and he has been out of school since refusing to cut his hair to meet the district’s dress code. “He is absolutely permitted to come back to school,” said Barbers Hill ISD Superintendent Greg Poole.