In 2025, the federal judge found that forcing high school students to be carriers of a Confederate school name in Shenandoah County violated First Amendment.
Attorneys for the NAACP Virginia State Conference and five families in Shenandoah County will argue that the reinstatement of Confederate school names by the Shenandoah County School Board violated the civil rights of students at Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby Lee Elementary School in closing arguments at a trial by judge, scheduled for March 31, 2026.
Where: US Western District of Virginia 116 North Main Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22802, Room 314
When: March 31, 2026, 11:00 am EDT
Background
On June 11, 2024, the NAACP Virginia State Conference and five Shenandoah County students filed a federal lawsuit alleging the Shenandoah County School Board is creating an unlawful and discriminatory educational environment for students. The complaint outlines how the reinstatement of Confederate school names violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution of the United States, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act. The Washington Lawyers’ Committee and Covington & Burling LLP represent the Virginia NAACP and student families.
On September 9, 2025, Judge Michael Urbanski ruled that the school board violated the First Amendment rights of students at Stonewall Jackson High School by forcing students to promote the name Stonewall Jackson and the Confederate message that it represents.
The NAACP Virginia State Conference President, students, Confederate historians, members of the Shenandoah County School Board, and other experts testified about their claims that the school names are discriminatory at a trial that took place from December 11 to 17, 2025.
June 11, 2024, Complaint
January 22, 2025, Memorandum Opinion
September 9, 2025, Memorandum Opinion
January 22, 2025, Memorandum Opinion Denying Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss
September 9, 2025, Memorandum Opinion Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary JudgementMarch 2, 2026, Plaintiffs’ Proposed Finding of Fact
March 2, 2026, Plaintiffs’ Proposed Conclusion of Law
March 2, 2026, Defendants’ Proposed Finding of Fact
March 2, 2026, Defendants’ Proposed Conclusion of Law
March 23, 2026, Plaintiffs’ Response to Defendant’s Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law
March 23, 2026, Defendants’ Response to Plaintiffs’ Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law