Skip to main content
Cloudy icon
47º

'Good first steps': Jefferson Forest parent reacts to resolution for civil rights investigation

Office of Civil Rights investigating alleged 'racially hostile environment'

BEDFORD COUNTY, Va. – "Good first steps."

That's what one parent is saying now that the Department of Education is investigating Jefferson Forest High School for violating civil rights laws.

School leaders in Bedford County have still not said what led to the investigation.

Photos showing what appeared to be students carrying Confederate flags as part of a school "spirit week" went viral on social media in February.

A resolution agreement details what the school will do to resolve the issue, which includes allowing visits from the Office of Civil Rights.

But district leaders say this agreement is not an admission that they violated any laws.

One man who removed his daughter from Jefferson Forest High after the incident said the investigation shows the leaders are taking parents' concerns very seriously. 

"Looking at what they've proposed and what they've asked Jefferson Forest to deliver, I think they're good first steps," said Lyman Connor, the parent of a Jefferson Forest High student.