Barbers Hill Independent School District

Barbers Hill Independent School District is a public school district in Mont Belvieu, Texas.

Composition

The district serves of exurbs in western Chambers County, Texas, and is located at the intersection of Interstate 10 and State Highway 146. The area is composed of four distinct communities: Mont Belvieu, Old River-Winfree, Cove, and Beach City. It has approximately 3400 students.
As of 2017, Barbers Hill ISD has a total of 11 schools.

Regular instructional

High School

Barbers Hill High School

Intermediate Schools

Barbers Hill Intermediate School North
Barbers Hill Intermediate School South

Middle Schools

Barbers Hill Middle School North
Barbers Hill Middle School South

Elementary Schools

Barbers Hill Elementary School North
Barbers Hill Elementary School South
Barbers Hill Early Childhood Center

Alternative instructional

Hardin Chambers Alternative
Alternative School
Adaptive Behavioral Unit
Barbers Hill DAEP/EPIC

Academic achievement

In 2009, the school district was rated "recognized" by the Texas Education Agency.

Dress code controversy

In January 2020, school authorities suspended DeAndre Arnold, an African American senior at Barbers Hill, due to the length of his hair. The district had altered its dress code over winter break, prohibiting boys from wearing their hair in a ponytail. Arnold's hairstyle is an homage to his Trinidadian roots. All of the board members voted in July 2020 to uphold the prohibition on long hair for male students. In August 2020, a federal judge ruled that the school district's hair policy was discriminatory and could not be enforced. Despite the ruling and the subsequent adoption of the CROWN Act, the district continued to enforce variations of the dress code until at least 2023.