A federal judge recently ruled against Darryl George, a Black high school student from Texas seeking a court order to return to school without the risk of further punishment for his hairstyle, according to the AP.

George left Barbers Hill High School at the start of his senior year after district officials told him they would continue to punish him for not cutting his hair. Throughout his junior year, he faced in-school suspension due to his twisted dreadlocks. The school district maintained that his hairstyle went against its dress code, which states that hair must not extend below the collar, eyebrows, or earlobes when worn down.

George approached U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown in Galveston to request a temporary restraining order to shield him from additional disciplinary actions while his federal lawsuit was ongoing. However, Brown denied this request in a ruling issued last Friday (Oct. 4), noting that George and his legal team had waited too long to make the request. This situation has ignited broader conversations about school dress codes and their effects on students' rights to express their identities.

Additionally, George's request came after Brown dismissed most of the claims made in the federal lawsuit filed by him and his mother, which accused school officials of racial and gender discrimination. In recent court filings, the school district argued that George lacked the legal standing to pursue a restraining order since he is no longer enrolled as a student. They defended their dress code by stating it aims to “teach grooming and hygiene, instill discipline, prevent disruption, avoid safety hazards, and teach respect for authority."

Last month, it was reported that George had already spent over two weeks in in-school suspension due to his twisted dreadlocks. When he showed up at school on Sept. 16 with the same hairstyle, his mother said he was suspended again. “He has to sit on a stool for eight hours in a cubicle,” she told reporters. “That’s very uncomfortable. Every day he’d come home, he’d say his back hurts because he has to sit on a stool.”