CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas – The attorney for a Barbers Hill ISD student who filed a lawsuit against the district over accusations of racial and gender discrimination says the case will continue despite a judge’s dismissal of most claims in the suit.
Darryl George was kept out of his regular classes for most of the 2023-2024 school year at Barbers Hill High School. The school said his dreadlocks fell below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violated the district’s dress code. George spent that time out of his classes in in-school suspension or at an off-campus disciplinary program.
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On Tuesday, a federal judge dismissed most of the claims in the lawsuit against the district. The judge dismissed claims that George’s due process rights under the 14th Amendment were being violated. He also dropped Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton, the district superintendent and other school employees from the case.
The only claim the judge left standing was an allegation of sex discrimination based on the school district’s lack of clearly defined policies on why girls could be allowed to have long hair but boys could not.
“They have to prove that girls and boys learned differently, that there’s a reason that you would allow a girl to have long hair and not allow a man to have long hair,” said George’s attorney Allie Booker.
Booker said while she was initially sad most of the claims were dismissed, she feels the fact the judge left the allegation of sex discrimination in the lawsuit opens the door for this to make a wider impact. George’s mother, Darresha George, echoed Booker’s thoughts.
“I feel that the judge gave us what we needed, that this is a fight beyond us. This is a fight that goes beyond race, that goes beyond just one class. It’s the whole gender is everything, is boys, girls, it’s everything right now,” she said. “It’s a good thing. It didn’t hurt us. It helped us.”
Darresha explains the case is about more than just her son, which is why they continue it.
“It’s about every male in this school district that’s born in the school district, that moves to this school district, that has to be in this school district. It’s about everyone in this school district. It’s not just about Darryl,” she said.
George is scheduled to go back to school for his senior year next week at Barbers Hill. Booker said she filed an injunction with the judge Wednesday hoping to allow George to go to school normally without having to be sent to in-school suspension or detention.
