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CALIFORNIA
On August 18, 1999, federal court Judge Rudi Brewster (9th Circuit) ruled in favor of AHNHA plaintiff Dr. JoAnne Cornwell [80 Fed. Sup. 2nd 1101; Cornwell v. Hamilton Southern District of California], that braiders cannot be forced to go to cosmetology school where braiding is not taught, forced to learn from texts that do not teach braiding, forced to take a test on subject matter that does not pertain to braiding, forced to take additional courses in order to teach braiding, or forced to work or learn in a toxic chemical environment associated with a school or salon where chemicals are used, that have been proven to cause miscarriages, birth defects, infertility, cancer, and upper respiratory problems. On June 15, 2000, Governor Gray Davis signed SB-235 into law (effective 01/01/01), exempting hairbraiders from the cosmetology laws in the state.

MARYLAND
In 1997 Maryland instituted total exemption of braiders from the cosmetology licensing requirements.

MICHIGAN
In 1997 Michigan passed a law creating a new natural haircare license, requiring 400 hours of coursework at a cosmetology school. The law was unusual in that it gave braiders the option to get a license--if they wanted to call themselves licensed braiders--or to braid hair legally without any license. Over the last two years, nine people have gotten natural hair care licenses through grandfathering. Only eight people have actually completed the natural hair care course. No test has been administered, because one has not been created. The board was unable to identify how many schools offer the course.

GEORGIA
A state court ruled (Civil Action File #E-64995) on March 25, 1998, that braiding cannot legally be included under cosmetology requirements. Superior Court Judge Bensonetta Tipton Lane ruled that " . . . the extensive (and probably expensive) requirements for licensure for 'braiding' are overly broad and bear no relationship to the activities performed by natural hair stylists and are not rationally related to any health or safety objectives."

KANSAS
On April 20, 2000, the governor signed into law, SB 513, which requires the Dept. of Health & Environment to make available a brochure for hairbraiders on infection control techniques that are appropriate for hairbraiding outside the salon setting. The brochure must include a self-test that must be kept along with the brochure on the premises.

WISCONSIN, ILLINOIS, MAINE, MISSISSIPPI, NORTH CAROLINA, & VERMONT
An October 1999 survey by both the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (Richmond, VA) and the New York State Department of Education revealed that no braiders licenses are required by any one of these six (6) states.

WASHINGTON, D.C.
In January 1993, Washington, D.C. was the first jurisdiction to pass a law creating a separate braider license. It required braiders to take an unspecified number of hours of training, acquire a braider license, placed a specialty braid practitioner on the board, and allowed grandfathering of practicing artisans. In 1999 a new omnibus bill affecting all businesses became law, gutting the 1993 Act. However, the board has never created the necessary regulations to implement the law. No schools teach the course, and no new or grand fathered licenses have been issued. Enforcement of any law has been non-existent.

NEW YORK
A natural hair care license was created in 1993. The statute did not specify the number of hours, but the regulations passed by the board required 900 hours in a licensed cosmetology school. New York allowed grandfathering of braiders without completing the training. Approximately 400 people took advantage of this offer before that window of opportunity closed. Seven years after the original statute passed, no cosmetology school teaches the curriculum and no one has received a license that was not grandfathered. After a federal lawsuit, new rules were implemented, creating a different braiding license with only a 300-hour class requirement. In the meantime, New York has not been enforcing its prohibition against unlicensed hairbraiding; it would be difficult to do so, as it is impossible to acquire such a license, because only one vocational high school in Westchester County now offers the course, and only to its students.

TENNESSEE
Tennessee created its natural hair care license in 1996. No rules were implemented, however, until June 1998. Now, braiders must take 300 hours of class at a licensed cosmetology school to get the license. Only one school (in Memphis) teaches the natural hair care course, and fewer than five people currently hold natural hair care licenses. Even licensed braiders cannot run their own braiding establishments. They are required after licensing to work for licensed cosmetologists only.

TEXAS
Texas created a hairbraiding license in 1997 by adding the word "braiding" to their already existing weaving curriculum, which was designed over 50 years ago. Obtaining the license requires 300 hours of class in a cosmetology school. Neither the test nor the curriculum has been revised to reflect the addition of braiding to the license. There are 48 people with current braid/weave licenses, and Texas did not distinguish between those that had received licenses in weaving prior to 1997 and braiders who may have completed the course since 1997. Several prospective braiders have taken and failed the antiquated test that includes nothing about braiding. Very few schools offer the weaving/braiding course, and only in Dallas. A lawsuit is pending in state court.

OHIO
A lawsuit is still pending in federal court against the state of Ohio. However, in 1999 the Ohio Legislature passed legislation requiring 450 hours of training for braiders.

FLORIDA
Florida has taken a very different approach. In 1994, it began to allow people to braid hair after a 16-hour health and safety course. The course does not need to be taught in a licensed cosmetology school, though the cosmetology board must still certify the eight schools that teach it. The only major problem with the Florida license is that it does not permit the use of hair extensions, which is a necessary step in almost all braided styles. (Florida also took the completely unnecessary and complicated step of creating a separate license for hair wrapping.) There are 263 licensed hairbraiders in Florida. Although this number is certainly an improvement over the other states with limited licenses, it is still much lower than it could be if the license allowed hair extensions. There are 2.2 million African-American residents of Florida. The board of cosmetology announced in the newspaper that it has not been enforcing the prohibition against braiding without a license, unless it receives a complaint. At last report, it had not pursued any complaints.

CONCLUSIONS The varying experiences of these states vividly demonstrates the problems with limited licensing programs. Most of these states have a significant African American population. However, most states have attempted to impose licensing with a requirement of several hundred hours of training to be taught in a cosmetology school. These programs have failed due to a number of factors. First, several of the cosmetology boards have been less than enthusiastic in their implementation of the new licensing program. In every state, there have been delays in writing and implementing regulations, creating tests, or creating course curricula. Second, most of the programs require prospective braiders to go to a licensed cosmetology school for the course. Because teaching the natural hair care course is optional, and many schools opt not to teach it, the training is inaccessible to many state residents. Moreover, many braiders have a profound objection to attending cosmetology school and becoming exposed to the strong chemicals that are so pervasive in cosmetology schools. Finally, lengthy class requirements seriously discourage prospective licensees. Given the miniscule amount of health and safety information that actually needs to be conveyed, lengthy classes mean unnecessary information is being taught. Even Florida has had significant difficulties with its limited licensing scheme.