A federal judge on Friday denied a request for a court order by a black high school student in Texas. Lawyers for the student argue that he was able to return to high school without fear of previous punishment over his hairstyle.
Darryl George was trying to re-enroll in high school in the Houston-area Barbers Hill School District after dropping out at the beginning of his senior year in August because he didn’t cut his hair. School district officials would continue to impose penalties. George was suspended from school for almost all of his junior year because of his hairstyle.
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.
George, 19, asked U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown in Galveston for a temporary grant that would prevent local authorities from further punishing him if he returns and proceeds to file a federal lawsuit. He asked for a restraining order to be issued.
But in a ruling issued late Friday afternoon, Brown denied George’s request, saying the student and his attorney took too long to seek the order.
George’s request comes after Brown dismissed most of the student’s and his mother’s claims in a federal lawsuit filed in August, alleging that school district officials were racially and sexually discriminatory in punishing George. Ta.
The judge accepted only the sex discrimination claim.
Brown said in his ruling that he also denied George’s request for a temporary restraining order because the district is likely to prevail on the remaining claims in the case.
Brown’s sentence happened to be handed down on George’s birthday. He turned 19 on Friday.
George’s attorney, Allie Booker, and a spokesperson for the Barbers Hill School District did not immediately return calls and emails seeking comment.
George’s lawyer said he had a nervous breakdown thinking about spending another year in punishment, dropped out of Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu and transferred to another high school in another Houston-area school district. .
In court documents filed this week, attorneys for the school district said George does not have legal standing to seek a restraining order because he is no longer a student in the district.
The district defends its dress code, saying its policies for students “teach grooming and hygiene, instill discipline, prevent disorder, avoid safety hazards, and teach respect for authority.” It is said that this is the purpose.
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. It is 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.
