The House State Affairs Committee heard testimony in support of the CROWN Act to ban race-based hair discrimination Thursday morning. Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune

A federal court ruled that the district's ban on dreadlocks is discriminatory. This same policy sparked national debate when it was used to punish two Texas students earlier this year for wearing their natural hair in dreadlocks. While school districts throughout the country have removed policies that were based on antiquated sex stereotypes, many school districts in Texas still have policies that treat students differently on the basis of their gender, Brian Klosterboer, an attorney for the ACLU of Texas, said in a written statement. School districts need to conform to federal law and fix outdated policies that cause serious harm to students in Texas, Klosterboer added. The ACLUs letter to the districts includes a copy of Arnolds court case and dress code guidance from the Texas Association of School Boards.

DeAndre Arnold was told by Barbers Hill school officials to cut his dreadlocks. A federal court ruled that the district's ban on dreadlocks is discriminatory. The decision from the U.S. District Court in Houston overturns the grooming policy from the Barbers Hill School District. Both students refused to comply, and filed lawsuits against the school district that argued the policy was discriminatorily construed and enforced. In an op-ed published earlier this year, Barbers Hill Superintendent Greg Poole defended his choice to keep the dress code policy unaltered.

HOUSTON – Houston Texans’ star DeAndre Hopkins showed his support for a Barbers Hills High School student who was suspended last week over the length of his dreadlocks. Hopkins, who also has dreadlocks, tweeted his support of Deandre Arnold, the teen in the middle of the controversy. “Never cut your locks Deandre Arnold,” the Texans football star tweeted. Read: Dreadlocks length controversy heats up at the Barbers Hill board meetingThe Barbers Hill School District previously released a written statement:“We do have a community-supported hair length policy & have had for decades. Barbers Hill is a state leader with high expectations in all areas!”This story was originally published by our sister station in Houston, KPRC.