The saga involving a Black Texas high school student who filed a civil rights lawsuit against his school district, the district superintendent, his principal, Texas Gov. Greg Abbot, and Attorney General Ken Paxton took a bad turn for the young Black man.
On Tuesday, a federal judge dismissed most of Darryl George’s claims that school officials were discriminating against him because of his race and gender, according to NBC News.
Going back to September 2023, George, who just finished his junior year in high school, had been suspended multiple times because he refused to cut his dreadlocks shorter. Every time he returned to school from a suspension, Barbers Hill High School in Belvieu, Texas would almost immediately issue a disciplinary notice.
Ironically, George was initially suspended the same week Texas’ CROWN Act, a law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination, went into effect.
As a result, George and his family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Barbers Hill school district and other state officials, alleging that the suspension of the then-17-year-old was a violation of the state’s law.
More from NBC News:
The ruling was another victory in the case for the Barbers Hill school district near Houston, which has said its policy restricting hair length for male students instills discipline while teaching grooming and respect for authority.
The Barbers Hill Independent School District’s dress code specifically states, “Male students’ hair will not extend, at any time, below the eyebrows or below the ear lobes. Male students’ hair must not extend below the top of a t-shirt collar or be gathered or worn in a style that would allow the hair to extend below the top of a t-shirt collar, below the eyebrows, or below the ear lobes when let down.”
Essentially, the locs themselves are not considered a violation, the length of his hair is. In response, George would tie his hair in a ponytail, but it was still considered a violation of district policy.
While U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown dismissed most of George’s claims; he did let the allegation of gender-based discrimination stand due to the district’s lack of clarity on why girls could have long hair but not boys, according to NBC News.
