Seven male students sued a Texas school district over a rule that prohibits boys from having long hair, citing it as “unlawful” and “discriminatory.”
The boys and their families seek either a preliminary or permanent injunction from federal court over the Magnolia Independent School District’s rule, as well as an unspecified amount of money to be awarded in compensation, including attorney fees.
The plaintiffs also want the court to regard the school district’s hair restrictions as having infringed upon the Equal Protection Clause under the 14th Amendment and Title IX, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
The Magnolia Independent School District has caused “immense and irreparable harm on the Plaintiffs” who are between the ages of seven and 17, according to the lawsuit, which adds that the boys have faced “severe, ongoing, and escalating harms” because of the discriminatory guidelines in place.
FAMILY OF ALLEGED LOUDOUN COUNTY SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM SUING SCHOOL DISTRICT
Although the boys have been “denied classroom instruction, barred from extracurricular activities, and forced to be suspended” for a month due to the length of their hair, girls are exempted from the school district’s policy, the lawsuit adds.
The policy says the length of boys’ hair cannot be longer than “the bottom of a dress shirt collar, bottom of the ear, and out of the eyes for male students.” Additionally, boys are not allowed to put their hair into any sort of ponytail.
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“At a time when students have already been through so much due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is outrageous that Magnolia ISD administrators are pushing students out of school because of their gender and hair,” Brian Klosterboer, an attorney for the ACLU of Texas, said in a press statement.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Magnolia ISD for a statement but did not receive a response.
