License to braid: barber college follies.

• Author: Remington, Jess
• Position: Citings - Brief article

What do you need to lawfully teach someone how to braid hair? In Texas, the list is pretty long: a "barber college" measuring at least 2,000 square feet, with multiple mannequins and wash stations, plus 2,250 hours of training. The Dallas-based hairbraider Isis Brantley is taking the state to court over what she says are onerous and unreasonable occupational licensing regulations.

Brantley, the founder and owner of an all-natural African hairbraiding salon, has made headlines for servicing everyone from homeless people to the neo-soul singer Erykah Badu. Though she has decades of experience, Texas law requires Brantley to build a barber college and undergo barber-specific training in order to teach her craft. The only way for Brantley to legally avoid those requirements would be to teach under government-approved barbers.

In Brantley v. Kuntz, a lawsuit filed against the...