HOUSTON — A black Texas high school student who was disciplined for nearly all of his junior year because of his hairstyle has left the school district without another year of suspension, his attorney announced.
But Darryl George, 18, wants to return to high school in the Houston-area Barbers Hill School District for his senior year and has asked a federal judge to temporarily block district officials from imposing further penalties. He is asking for a restraining order to be issued. cutting his hair. That would allow him to return to school while his federal lawsuit pays off.
George’s claim stems from a federal lawsuit filed by the student and his mother in August, which alleges that district officials engaged in racial and gender discrimination in punishing George. This was done after rejecting most of the cases.
The judge only accepted the sex discrimination claim and questioned whether the district’s hair length rules did more harm than good.
“Judge Brown, please help me attend school like any other teenage student while this case is pending,” George said in an affidavit filed last month.
Mr. Brown, at Mr. George’s request, has scheduled a court hearing in Galveston for Oct. 3.
In court documents filed last week, attorneys for the school district said the judge lacked jurisdiction to issue a restraining order because George is no longer a student in the district.
“And while George’s expulsion from the school district does not disqualify him from seeking past damages, the school district maintains that George has suffered no constitutional harm and is not entitled to seek damages.” ,” the school district’s attorney said.
The district defends its dress code, saying the policy for students is meant to “teach grooming and hygiene, instill discipline, prevent disorder, avoid safety hazards, and teach respect for authority.” It is said that there are.
In court documents filed last week, Allie Booker, one of George’s attorneys, said the student was “forced to withdraw” from Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu because Barbers Hill officials placed him in Houston. He said he was transferred to another high school in another school district in the district. Regarding in-school suspensions on the first and second days of the new semester that started last month.
This “caused him significant emotional distress and ultimately led to a nervous breakdown. As a result, we had no choice but to remove him from the school environment,” Booker said. Ta.
George’s departure “wasn’t a matter of choice, it was a matter of survival,” but his mother moved to the area because of the high quality of the district’s schools, and George is eager to return, Booker said. he said.
George was unable to attend regular high school classes for most of the 2023-24 school year, when he was a junior, because the district claimed the length of his hair violated the dress code. George was either given an in-school suspension or was forced to spend time in an off-campus disciplinary program.
The school district argued that George’s long hair, which he wears tied and twisted on top of his head to school, violates regulations because when he wears it down, it falls under his shirt collar, eyebrows and earlobes. The district said students with other districts also follow the length policy.
George’s federal lawsuit alleges that his punishment also violates the Crown Act, a recent state law that prohibits hair discrimination based on race. The Crown Act, which was debated even before the controversy over George’s hair and came into force in September 2023, will allow employers and schools to recognize hair texture and protect hair styles such as afros, braids, locs, twists and Bantu knots. Forbidden to punish people for their style.
In February, a state judge ruled in a lawsuit brought by the school district that the disposition did not violate Crown Law.
Barbers Hill’s hair policy was also challenged in a May 2020 federal lawsuit filed by two other students. Two students were expelled from high school, but a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction for one student, citing a “substantial possibility” that his rights to free speech and freedom from racial discrimination would be violated if he were barred from attending the school. He accepted the order and was reinstated. That lawsuit is still pending.
