A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the Shenandoah County School Board violated the First Amendment by restoring the name of a Confederate general to a high school in Quicksburg.

Senior U.S. District Judge Michael F. Urbanski states in a memorandum opinion filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia that the School Board’s action in 2024 to restore the name of Stonewall Jackson High School violates the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights against compelled speech.

The ruling does not require the School Board to rename the school again. Urbanski has allowed the Stonewall Jackson name to remain until the plaintiffs’ other claims against the School Board are dealt with. A 10-day trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 8.

The Virginia State Conference of the NA

See Full Page