Akin Gump Helps Secure Injunction Against Racially Discriminatory Dress and Grooming Policy in Texas School District
Contact:
(Houston) – Following a three-day virtual preliminary injunction hearing, yesterday Judge George C. Hanks, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted a request made by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) and pro bono co-counsel Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP to enjoin enforcement of Barbers Hill Independent School District (BHISD)’s discriminatory dress and grooming policy. Akin Gump and LDF made the request on behalf of K.B, a Black student at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas.
Prior to the court’s decision, BHISD intended to confine K.B. to indefinite in-school suspension and exclude him from school activities until he cuts his locs. Now, K.B. can return to class, extracurricular activities, and all the normal educational opportunities offered to Barbers Hill High School students while the lawsuit related to BHISD’s policy continues.
Responding to the judge’s opinion, Akin Gump senior counsel Roxanne Tizravesh, who co-led the team, commented, “We are very pleased with yesterday’s decision, and look forward to continuing the effort in seeking to permanently enjoin the school district’s discriminatory hair policy.”
In addition to Ms. Tizravesh, the Akin Gump team representing the students in this case was co-led by Houston counsel Nicholas Petree, and included associates Alyx Eva and Christina Hightower.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers and advisors in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
# # #
People Mentioned in This News
