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ANAHUAC, Texas 鈥� A Black high school student鈥檚 monthslong punishment by his Texas school district for refusing to change his hairstyle does not violate a new state law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination, a judge ruled on Thursday.

Darryl George, 18, has not been in his regular Houston-area high school classes since Aug. 31 because the district, Barbers Hill, says the length of his hair violates its dress code.

The district filed a lawsuit arguing George鈥檚 long hair, which he wears in tied and twisted locs on top of his head, violates its policy because it would fall below his shirt collar, eyebrows or earlobes when let down. The district has said other students with locs comply with the length policy.

After about three hours of testimony in Anahuac, state District Judge Chap Cain III ruled in favor of the school district, saying its policy is not discriminatory because the CROWN Act does not say that exemptions for long hair can be made for hairstyles that are protected by the law, including locs. And he said courts must not attempt to rewrite legislation.

鈥淛udges should not legislate from the bench and I am not about to start today,鈥� Cain said.

The CROWN Act, which took effect in September, prohibits race-based hair discrimination and bars employers and schools from penalizing people because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including Afros, braids, locs, twists or Bantu knots.

The judge encouraged George to ask the state Legislature or the school board to address the issue.

George鈥檚 family has also filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency and a federal civil rights lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with the school district, alleging they failed to enforce the CROWN Act. The lawsuit is before a federal judge in Galveston.

Allie Booker, George’s attorney, said she planned to seek an injunction in the federal lawsuit to stop George鈥檚 punishment and that she also would appeal Thursday鈥檚 decision.

For most of the school year, George, a junior, has either served in-school suspension at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu or spent time at an off-site disciplinary program.

鈥淭he Texas legal system has validated our position that the district鈥檚 dress code does not violate the CROWN Act and that the CROWN Act does not give students unlimited self-expression,鈥� Barbers Hill Superintendent Greg Poole said in a statement.

The district did not present any witnesses, instead only submitting evidence that included an affidavit from the district鈥檚 superintendent defending the dress code policy. Its attorneys argued that the dress code policy does not violate the CROWN Act because the law does not mention or cover hair length.

Before the trial, George and his mother, Darresha George, said they were optimistic.

Wearing locs is 鈥渉ow I feel closer to my people. It鈥檚 how I feel closer to my ancestors. It鈥檚 just me. It鈥檚 how I am,鈥� George said.

After the ruling, George and his mother cried and declined to speak with reporters.

Candice Matthews, a spokesperson for George鈥檚 family, said the 18-year-old asked her as he left the courthouse: 鈥淎ll because of my hair? I can鈥檛 get my education because of my hair?鈥�

Testifying for George, Democratic state Rep. Ron Reynolds, one of the co-authors of the CROWN Act, said that while the protection of hair length was not specifically mentioned in the CROWN Act, it was inferred.

鈥淎nyone familiar with braids, locs, twists knows it requires a certain amount of length,鈥� Reynolds said.

It is 鈥渁lmost impossible for a person to comply with this (grooming) policy and wear that protective hairstyle,鈥� he said.

Reynolds said he was disappointed by the ruling, and that he would file a bill for a new version of the CROWN Act that specifically mentions protections for hair length.

鈥淭he purpose of the legislation is to protect students like Darryl 鈥� the same students that Barbers Hill has discriminated against because of their locs, their braids and their twists,鈥� Reynolds said.

U.S. Rep Bonnie Watson Coleman, a New Jersey Democrat who has tried to get a federal version of the CROWN Act passed, called Thursday鈥檚 decision 鈥渁 terrible interpretation of the CROWN Act.鈥�

鈥淭his is what we mean by institutional racism,鈥� Coleman said on X.

In his statement, Poole pushed back against allegations that the district鈥檚 dress code is racist, saying such allegations undermine 鈥渆fforts to address actions that violate constitutionally protected rights.鈥�

In a paid ad that ran in January in the Houston Chronicle, Poole wrote that districts with a traditional dress code are safer and have higher academic performance, and that 鈥渂eing an American requires conformity.鈥�

Barbers Hill鈥檚 hair policy was also challenged in a May 2020 federal lawsuit filed by two other students. Both withdrew from the high school, but one returned after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction, saying there was 鈥渁 substantial likelihood鈥� that his rights to free speech and to be free from racial discrimination would be violated if he was barred. That lawsuit is pending.