ACLU sends letter to Spring Branch ISD about discriminatory dress code, athlete mistreatment

HOUSTON - Spring Branch ISD reportedly received a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the ACLU in regard to a discriminatory dress code and other gender inequities in the Spring Woods High School athletics program.

According to the ACLU of Texas, a junior at Spring Woods High, only referred to as G.H., is the only Black student-athlete on the girls' cross county and track teams, and was mistreated and denied opportunities and rewards by the district employees because she objected the disparities in the school's dress code enforcement for male and female athletes.

An example of this mentioned, is how school officials reprimanded G.H. for training in her sports bra in 100-degree heat while allowing male students to practice shirtless.

The letter also makes note of the unequal coaching and training for the girls' cross-country team compared to the boys.

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After G.H. complained to the coaching staff, they were said to dismiss the female athlete and even denied her an award for being the top runner on the team even though she had the best performance record and was the only student-athlete to never have missed a cross-country practice. The award was a critical credential for college applications and recruiting.

"While G.H. has bravely decided to continue running, the mistreatment she has experienced has diminished her love for the sport," the release states.

ACLU of Texas warns the school district officials about how their existing policies, practices, and mistreatment of G.H. potentially put them in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

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"I never thought this would come to this point," said G.H., a junior at Spring Woods High School said in the release. "I had faith that the people meant to protect us would do so and do right by us. Me stepping forward for my teammates may never benefit me, but it will benefit the next young woman of color that looks like me."

In the letter to the district, it mentions how during a meeting a District employee announced all indoor and outdoor athletes are required to wear shirts because "it’s inappropriate to be showing skin as a high school student."

Days after the meeting, G.H. saw a boy athlete take off his shirt during a hill workout and he was not reprimanded. G.H. took off her shirt to finish the workout in a sports bra and was immediately yelled at to put her shirt on. "When G.H. pointed out that the same coaches were allowing a boy to practice shirtless without issue, they then asked that student to don a shirt," the letter states.

In addition, the ACLU of Texas mentions how there is a disparity in the athletics program.

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The coaches reportedly do not provide the same level of feedback and coaching to the girls' team compared to the boys. In the letter is states, "The coaches routinely yell out split times to the boys, and not to the girls, so that boy athletes know their paces, but girl athletes do not."

ACLU of Texas also says in the letter, the girls' team is often not supervised like the boys' team. They are often running alone while the boys' team has at least one coach running with them and the coaches rarely check on the girls' after practices and meets, while they consistently check on the boys'.

"The discrimination G.H. faced is unfortunately all-too-common for Black girls in our country’s schools, and dress codes are often the excuse schools hide behind for that mistreatment," said Liza Davis, Skadden Fellow at the ACLU Women’s Rights Project. "G.H. bravely challenged unfair discrimination and was roundly punished for it, hurting her academic and athletic career and potentially denying her future opportunities in sports. We refuse to stand by while Spring Branch ISD staff mistreat the cross-country team’s only Black athlete because she dared to speak up for herself and her fellow students."

The full letter sent to Spring Branch ISD can be found here: https://www.aclu.org/letter/letter-sent-spring-branch-isd-regarding-discriminatory-dress-code-and-gender-inequities.