Attorneys for the NAACP Virginia State Conference, Parents and Students to Present Closing Arguments Challenging Confederate Legacy at Trial, March 31, 2026

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