Judge Orders Virginia School Board to Remove Confederate Names

U.S. District Judge Michael F. Urbanski ordered the Shenandoah County school board in Virginia to replace the Confederate military names of two schools, ruling that the board's 2024 decision to reinstate the names discriminated against Black students. The court found that restoring the names of Confederate officers violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act.

In 2024, the board voted 5-1 to reverse a 2020 decision to remove the names, renaming Mountain View High School back to Stonewall Jackson High School and Honey Run Elementary back to Ashby-Lee Elementary. The NAACP Virginia State Conference filed the lawsuit on behalf of six students and their parents to challenge the restoration of these names.

Judge Urbanski directed the board to select new, racially nondiscriminatory names with all deliberate speed. He stated that schools must provide an educational environment free of vestiges of racial discrimination. The NAACP Virginia State Conference characterized the ruling as a decisive victory for the students involved.