The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas sued the district Oct. 21, alleging the district’s gender-based policies violate Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Community Impact Newspaper previously reported. On Oct. 26, a judge granted a temporary restraining order against the district’s enforcement of the policies.
In a statement provided to Community Impact Newspaper, Brian Klosterboer, ACLU of Texas staff attorney, said students and parents in the district are relieved MISD has paused enforcement of its policies.
“This issue should have been swiftly corrected without the need for litigation, and the school board should end it by permanently changing this outdated and unconstitutional policy,” Klosterboer said in the statement. “Dress codes that discriminate against students have no place in our society.”
In the Oct. 26 restraining order, the judge said MISD’s policies are “substantially likely” to violate Title IX, according to the order. As a result of the order, students in the district who had been facing disciplinary action due to their hair length were able to return to regular classes, Klosterboer said in the statement.
“It is critical that other school districts in Texas also change their outdated policies to not discriminate against or punish students based solely on gender and gender stereotypes,” Klosterboer said in the statement.
MISD’s pause of enforcement of the policies is temporary while ongoing litigation moves forward, the district said. The district declined to provide further comments on this story.
