A Black high school student in Texas who was punished for nearly all of his junior year over his hairstyle has left his school district rather than spend another year in school, according to his attorney.
Darryl George, however, would like to spend his senior year at his Houston-area high school in the Barbers Hill school district.
As a result, he has requested a temporary restraining order from a federal judge to stop district officials from punishing him further for not cutting his hair. He would be able to go back to school while the federal lawsuit he filed moves forward because of this.
George’s request comes after U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown dismissed the majority of the student’s and his mother’s claims in the federal lawsuit that school district officials discriminated against him based on his race and gender when they punished him.
The judge only upheld the gender discrimination claim and inquired as to whether the hair length rule implemented by the school district does more harm than good.
In an affidavit filed last month, George stated,
“Judge Brown please help us so that I can attend school like a normal teenage student during the pendency of this litigation.”
On George’s request, Brown has scheduled a Galveston court hearing for October 3.
The school district’s attorneys claimed in court documents filed last week that the judge does not have the authority to issue the restraining order because George no longer attends the district.
Attorneys for the school district stated,
“And George’s withdrawal from the district does not deprive him of standing to seek past damages, although the district maintains that George has not suffered a constitutional injury and is not entitled to recover damages”
The dress code is defended by the district, whose policies for students are intended to “teach grooming and hygiene, instill discipline, prevent disruption, avoid safety hazards, and teach respect for authority,” according to the statement.
One of George’s attorneys, Allie Booker, stated in court documents that the student was “forced to unenroll” from Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu and transfer to another high school in a different Houston area district because Barbers Hill officials placed him on in-school suspension on the first and second days of the new school year, which began last month. These documents were filed last week.
He experienced significant emotional distress as a result of this, which eventually resulted in a nervous breakdown. We were forced to remove him from the school environment as a result,” Booker stated.
According to Booker, George’s departure “was not a matter of choice but of survival,” but he wishes to return, as his mother moved there due to the district’s quality of education.
The school district claimed that George’s hair length was in violation of its dress code, and as a result, George was excluded from his regular high school classes for the majority of the 2023–24 academic year, when he was a junior. He was forced to attend an off-site disciplinary program or serve an in-school suspension.
The school district has argued that George’s long hair, which he wears to school in twisted and tied locs on top, violates its policy because, if it were to fall down, it would fall below his shirt collar, earlobes, and eyebrows. Other students with locs, according to the district, adhere to the length policy.
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In addition, George’s federal lawsuit claimed that his punishment was in violation of the “Crown Act,” a recent state law that forbids race-based hair discrimination.
The “Crown” Act, which was under discussion prior to the controversy over George’s hair and became law in September 2023, prohibits employers and schools from penalizing individuals based on hair texture or protective hairstyles such as Afros, braids, locs, twists, or Bantu knots.
In a lawsuit filed by the school district in February, a state judge ruled that the punishment does not violate the CROWN Act.
In a federal lawsuit that was filed in May of 2020 by two additional students, the hair policy of Barbers Hill was also challenged. One returned after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction, stating that there was “a substantial likelihood” that his rights to free speech and freedom from racial discrimination would be violated if he was barred. The other withdrew from the high school. That legal action is still on hold.
