A federal judge this week dismissed a majority of the claims in a Black Texas high school student’s lawsuit against his school district, which accused officials there of racial and gender discrimination for punishing him over his refusal to change his hairstyle. Legal experts told Salon that while the axed racial discrimination claim didn’t have strong legs, thanks in part to a controversial Supreme Court doctrine of “colorblindness,” the suit’s remaining sex discrimination allegation has the potential to have major reverberations.
The order dealt another blow to 18-year-old Darryl George, a state judge earlier this year having found his school district’s hair-length policy did not violate a new state law that aimed to prohibit race-based hair discrimination.
The Houston-area Barbers Hill Independent School District has argued that it’s policy restricting male student’s hair length is meant to teach grooming and instill a respect for authority, according to The Associated Press. Its superintendent praised the recent court ruling in a statement, blaming “cancerous cancel culture” for accusations of racism.