A press release from the NAACP confirms that the trial involving the reinstatement of confederate school names begins December 11.
Opening statements from attorneys for the NAACP and five Shenandoah County school families will open at 9:30 a.m. in Harrisonburg.
The issue stems from the reinstatement of the names Stonewall Jackson and Ashby Lee Schools in Shenandoah County.
A suit filed by five students in June 2024 alleges that the Shenandoah County school board created an unlawful and discriminatory educational environment for students.
Back in September Judge Michael Urbanski ruled that the school board violated the first amendment rights of the students.
Urbanski called the reinstatement of the names forces students to promote the name and the confederate message it represents.
The trial will be held in U.S. Western District Court Harrisonburg in room 314 and could last through December 19.
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