Three Idaho entrepreneurs and the Institute for Justice (IJ) held a press conference on the steps of the Idaho Capitol Building Tuesday to announce their lawsuit challenging existing requirements for braiding licenses.
Tedy Okech, Charlotte Amoussou and Sonia Ekemon have a combined 60 years of experience practicing African-style hair braiding, but under the current state law, they are unable to charge for their services.
Idaho requires braiders to become licensed cosmetologists before they are able to braid hair for a living. The prerequisite for obtaining a license includes 1,600 hours of training at a cosmetology school and completing both a written and a practical exam.
The lawsuit argues that most of that training is irrelevant for professional hair braiders. Idaho law does not require cosmetology schools to teach students African-style braiding techniques, and only 2 out of 110 questions on the written exam are related to braiding, with the practical exam not covering braiding at all, according to the lawsuit.
