Virginia judge orders Shenandoah County to rename Confederate-named schools

A federal judge has ordered Shenandoah County Schools in Virginia to rename two schools that had recently been reverted to Confederate names. In a 141-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Michael Urbanski determined that the school board’s 2024 decision to restore the names violated the Fourteenth Amendment and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act.

The schools involved, Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby-Lee Elementary School, were renamed in 2020 to Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary School following a board resolution condemning racism. However, a newly elected school board voted 5-1 in May 2024 to restore the original Confederate names. The judge found that this reversal was driven by discriminatory intent, noting that the board acted with full awareness of the names' historic legacy and their connection to Virginia’s period of Massive Resistance to desegregation.

The lawsuit was brought by the Virginia NAACP and parents of five students. Judge Urbanski specified that his ruling is based on the unique history of Shenandoah County and does not necessarily apply to other Confederate-named schools in the state. The district’s attorney indicated that an appeal is likely.