Federal Judge Orders Virginia County To Drop Restored Confederate School Names
A federal judge on Thursday, August 6, 2026 ruled that Shenandoah County, Virginia, must remove Confederate names it restored to two schools and pick new names on a racially nondiscriminatory basis.[1]
Judge Michael F. Urbanski found the 2024 restorations violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act.[1] He ordered the school board to select replacement names "with all deliberate speed." PBS
In June 2024, the Virginia NAACP sued on behalf of six students and parents after the school board reinstated the Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby-Lee Elementary names.[1] Black students make up less than 3% of Shenandoah County's school enrollment, a demographic detail central to the plaintiffs' equal-protection claims.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On Thursday, August 6, 2026, Judge Michael F. Urbanski ruled Shenandoah County's 2024 restoration of Confederate school names unconstitutional.
- The court found violations of the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act.
- The judge ordered the school board to select new names for the two schools on a racially nondiscriminatory basis 'with all deliberate speed.'
- The Virginia NAACP sued in June 2024 on behalf of six students and parents after the board reinstated the Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby-Lee Elementary names.
- Black students constitute less than 3% of the Shenandoah County school system's enrollment.
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