American Notes TEXAS

Once was bad enough, so when Houston school authorities this fall banned his two teenage sons from classes because of their long hair for the second time, Wilburn Wilkinson, 48, decided to go to court. The divorced electronics technician sued the Spring Branch (Texas) Independent School District, charging that Northbrook High School is discriminating against his sons Brian, 17, and Travis, 15, by enforcing a dress and appearance code that controls male -- but not female -- hair length.

Since last October the boys have been exiled from class because the school prohibits male hair below the shoulders. Theirs reaches the middle of their backs. Last year short-haired Wilkinson tutored them at home, but was later fined $25 for violating the compulsory school-attendance law. He has hired a lawyer, Darrell McAlexander, with shoulder-length hair and a drooping Fu Manchu mustache.