Texas High School Legally Enforced Hairstyle Rule With Black Student, Judge Rules

The district says the student’s hair violates the district’s dress code.

Darryl George, a 17-year-old junior, before walking across the street to go into Barbers Hill High School after serving a 5-day in-school suspension for not cutting his hair in Mont Belvieu, Texas, on Sept. 18, 2023. Michael Wyke/AP Photo

A Texas school district that punished a black high school student for refusing to change his hairstyle did not violate a new state law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination, a judge ruled on Thursday.

Darryl George, 18, is a junior and has not attended his regular classes since Aug. 31 because his high school in Barbers Hill ISD says his hair violates the district’s dress code policy.