A U.S. judge has denied a black Texas student’s request for a court order to protect him from punishment at secondary school because of his hairstyle.
Last August, authorities suspended 19-year-old Darryl George because his dreadlocks violated the dress code.
In a federal lawsuit filed over the proceeds of his suspension, George asked District Judge Jeffrey Brown to issue a temporary restraining order so he can return to his Houston-area school.
But Judge Brown rejected the request in Friday’s ruling, saying it took too long to seek the order.
George has been sentenced to multiple disciplinary actions since August 2023, the year before he enrolled at Barbers Hill High School, for refusing to cut his hair.
The school district cited its dress code, which states that hair cannot be worn “above the collar of a T-shirt, below the eyebrows, or below the earlobes when worn down.”
But George refused to cut off his family’s braided dreadlocks, citing their cultural importance in the black community.
He was removed from class, suspended, and later required to participate in an off-campus program.
“He has to sit in a chair for eight hours in a private room,” his mother told The Associated Press last year.
“It’s very uncomfortable. He said his back hurts because he has to sit in a chair every day when he gets home.”
George returned to the same school this year.
But George’s lawyer said last month that school authorities suspended him on the first and second days of the new school year, which begins in August, forcing George to leave the school and transfer to another school. said.
The federal lawsuit filed by George and his mother continues.
George claims his punishment violates the Crown Act, a recent state law that prohibits hair discrimination based on race. The law, which took effect in September 2023, prohibits employers and schools from penalizing people for their hair texture or protective hairstyles, including dreadlocks.
In February, a state judge ruled that his punishment did not violate Crown Law.
