The family of a black student in Texas suspended over his dreadlocks have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state’s governor and attorney general.
Darryl George, 17, claimed on Saturday they failed to enforce a new law outlawing discrimination based on hairstyles.
Darryl, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Houston has been serving an in-school suspension since August 31.
Officials say his dreadlocks fall below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violate the district’s dress code.
George’s mother Darresha George and the family’s attorney deny this, saying his hair is neatly tied in twisted dreadlocks on top of his head.
The lawsuit also alleges that Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton failed in their official duties to protect Darryl’s constitutional rights against discrimination and against violations of his freedom of speech and expression.
Allie Booker, the family’s attorney, wrote in the lawsuit he “should be permitted to wear his hair in the manner in which he wears it ... because the so-called neutral grooming policy has no close association with learning or safety and when applied, disproportionately impacts black males.”
Spokesmen for Abbott and Paxton, both Republicans, did not immediately return emails seeking comment.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to stop his suspension while the case is in court.
Mrs George said she was recently hospitalised after a series of panic and anxiety attacks brought on from stress.
She added Darryl was in tears when suspended, continuing: “He has to sit on a stool for eight hours in a cubicle.
“That’s very uncomfortable. Every day he’d come home, he’d say his back hurts because he has to sit on a stool.”
