A federal judge has mandated that Shenandoah County Schools in Virginia must rename two schools that had been given Confederate names in 2024. The district had previously removed these names in 2020, changing Stonewall Jackson High School to Mountain View High and Ashby-Lee Elementary to Honey Run Elementary following a board resolution condemning racism.
In a 141-page ruling issued Thursday, Judge Michael Urbanski determined that the school board’s decision to restore the Confederate names violated the Fourteenth Amendment and multiple federal civil rights statutes. The judge found that the 2024 action was driven by discriminatory intent rather than legitimate procedural concerns. Urbanski noted in his decision that the board deliberately chose to revert to Confederate names just four years after removal specifically because of their racially discriminatory nature.
The judge traced the origins of both schools to the district’s historical resistance to racial integration. Stonewall Jackson High was constructed in the late 1950s exclusively for white students during Virginia’s period of Massive Resistance to desegregation, with the Confederate flag flown during construction. Ashby-Lee Elementary was built and named in the 1970s as the district opposed federal integration efforts, with testimony indicating the name was selected partly to discourage Black families from enrolling.
The school board’s composition had shifted between the 2020 and 2024 votes to include members supporting the name restoration. The board also changed legal counsel and coordinated closely with local groups backing the reversal. The district’s attorney indicated an appeal is likely, stating the board remains committed to its position.
Civil rights advocates celebrated the ruling. The case was brought by the Virginia NAACP chapter and parents of five students. The judge ordered the district to select new school names through a racially nondiscriminatory process and called for community-driven consensus to avoid prolonged legal conflict.
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