A website for the Washington-Liberty High School alumni association extols the school’s 95-year history, during which thousands of students have passed through the halls and the building has “changed drastically” after four major building renovations. But while the association celebrates the building updates, it is fighting against another kind of change: this week, the association filed suit against the Arlington County School Board for changing the name of the high school from “Washington-Lee” to “Washington-Liberty,” getting rid of a reference to the Confederate general.

Filed Friday in Alexandria’s federal court, the complaint argues that the board “willfully and purposefully deceived the public to suppress public feedback” in its controversial decision. The Washington-Lee High School Alumni Association alleges the school board members let their own political values muddy the process, and that they conspired to make the name change without a promised, lengthy public feedback period.

Arlington’s school board voted in early 2019 to change the high school’s name, after establishing a committee of alumni, parents, and students to examine the issue in 2018. Often, committee meetings were interrupted by protesters who opposed the change, one committee member told WAMU. The bid to rename the school comes as part of a larger, nationwide movement to reconsider monikers and monuments that honor Confederate leaders.

But, as this new lawsuit shows, that movement is not without backlash.

“These politicians not only violated their own policies, but also colluded to infringe the constitutional rights of their constituents, including the alumni association and its members, to free speech, and an opportunity to be heard before depriving them of their rights,” the suit alleges. The alumni argue that the officials violated Virginia law by “defacing a memorial” to George Washington and Lee, and that the decision caused a decline in the association’s membership due to confusion over the incongruous names. “Indeed, it is possible that the alumni association will be unable to continue operations unless the school’s name is restored,” the complaint reads.

And this isn’t the first legal complaint about the name change. Three Washington-Liberty students tried to block the name change when the process started in June of 2018. That suit was tossed out by a judge.

But many people spoke in favor of getting rid of Lee’s name, considering his role in attempting to preserve the system of slavery. Jack Holt, a senior in 2018 and member of the committee, told WAMU that “Lee was a racist symbol that got put on Washington-Lee. He was a traitor, and I don’t think his name should be on any building where kids get educated.”

The alumni association is seeking a permanent injunction that would declare the name change illegal and rule that the board recognize the school’s name as Washington-Lee. The association filed the suit on Lee-Jackson Day, a state holiday honoring Lee and Confederate general Stonewall Jackson. The holiday is only celebrated in some parts of Virginia—and on Tuesday, the Virginia Senate voted to get rid of it altogether.

Schools in D.C. face similar questions. For instance, community members at Wilson High are debating whether a name change is in order for the school, which is named after President Woodrow Wilson, considering his policies that segregated neighborhoods. If Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie gets his way, a bill he introduced to the D.C. Council would create a committee to review controversial names, while also mandating the construction of new statues that represent women and Washingtonians of color.