A Texas teenager who was suspended from school earlier this year because of his locs has prevailed after filing a lawsuit against the school district for discrimination.

NBC News reports a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on Monday to allow Kaden Bradford to keep his locs without facing suspension. Bradford's "rights under the Equal Protection Clause and the First Amendment will be violated if his motion for a preliminary injunction is denied, and he has additionally shown that he will receive either inferior instruction or no instruction if his motion is denied," the court stated.

In January, the Barbers Hill High School student and his cousin, DeAndre Arnold, were punished because of their hair, as Blavity previously reported. Arnold was forced to miss his graduation ceremony in May while Bradford was confined to suspension. 

The incoming junior also faced the possibility of indefinite in-school suspension and exclusion from school activities as the new school year begins. But Bradford can now attend school without repercussions after winning his lawsuit. 

According to The Texas Tribune, the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund represented Bradford in his case.

"Locs are communicative, they express pride in one's Black racial heritage, family heritage," attorney Michaele Turnage Young told The Tribune. "It's 2020, this is a basic recognition. … But to have a federal court recognize that, it's a huge step in the right direction.”

Janai Nelson, NAACP Legal Defense Fund associate director-counsel, said the teenager's hair is "an immutable part of his Black identity and cultural heritage" and that he shouldn't have to "endure an unjust and educationally damaging in-school suspension simply for having uncut locs."

Cindy Bradford, Kaden's mother, said her son has been growing out his hair since he was in sixth grade. The mother said the school's principal made his hair an issue after initially saying the teen could keep his locs if he wore them pulled back. 

“He had [locs] last year. He took a headband and pushed them off his shoulders. [The school] said if he kept them up like that it was no problem,” Cindy said. 

The Barbers Hill Independent School District tried to clarify its policy following the controversy. In a tweet, the district said locs are allowed but that there is a policy regarding hair length. 

"We DO have a community supported hair length policy & have had for decades," the district stated.

Sen. Cory Booker, who announced a federal bill that would ban hair discrimination in December, expressed his support for the young men.

"Natural hair like dreadlocks is a reflection of culture & heritage," Booker tweeted. "No one should be punished for expressing who they are. The CROWN Act would end this — hair discrimination is discrimination against black people."

Arnold received widespread support after his story went viral. Ellen DeGeneres and Alicia Keys awarded a $20,000 scholarship to the Texas student, as Blavity previously reported. Gabrielle Union and her husband, Dwyane Wade, also invited the teenager as a guest to the Oscars. 

Barbers Hill High SchoolBarbers Hill Independent School DistrictBlack-hair-discriminationDeAndre-ArnoldKaden Bradford