Appeals court sides with student who was forced to cut his hair, case goes back to Cole County

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City student will get another chance at his lawsuit against the district.

An appeals court on Tuesday sided with Joey Huerta and his mother in their lawsuit from 2017.

They sued when a wrestling coach at Thomas Jefferson Middle School made Huerta cut his hair.

The appeals court said the school offered female wrestlers the option of wearing a head covering but didn't allow the boys to do it. The case now heads back to Cole County.

The Jefferson City School District on Tuesday said district is in the process of reviewing Tuesday’s opinion with its attorneys.

“We appreciate that the appellate court upheld the trial court’s dismissal of seven tort claims as well as the race discrimination claim,” district spokesperson Ryan Burns said in an email. “We will review the appellate court’s opinion with our attorneys and determine next steps. “

The district previously criticized the coach in 2019.

“The way this student was treated is wholly incompatible with district expectations for staff conduct. We have not, and will not, tolerate this type of unacceptable behavior from anyone on our staff,” a statement from 2019 read. “The district has no policy that would require the cutting of a male or female wrestler's hair, and as soon as the district became aware of this incident we investigated and took appropriate action. 

"Alexander Whelan is no longer employed with the district, and has not been employed with the district since December 2017.”