MONT BELVIEU, Texas — A Texas judge has ruled a school district’s hair policy is discriminatory after two Black students were suspended for their dreadlocks.

According to KTRK-TV, the decision from the judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas came late Monday.

The policy was at the center of controversy after a senior at Barbers Hill High School was suspended in January. District officials said it wasn’t about race or that dreadlocks weren’t allowed, just that his in particular were too long.

The student was told he could not return to school or walk at graduation unless he cut his hair. He argued that his dreadlocks were part of his Trinidadian heritage.

He and another student filed grievances on Jan. 27, followed by a lawsuit. Last month, the school board voted not to change the policy.