Update, Dec. 6
At a Dec. 2 meeting, the committee that oversees Virginia's Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program said it had not yet been able to reach a decision on whether to expand eligibility to people living outside of Virginia or attending out-of-state schools.
"There's so many pieces to that puzzle with regard to where the money comes from, how the money was acquired, and then the allocation, or the distribution of the money through SCHEV," said state Sen. Angelia Williams Graves (D–Norfolk), the committee's chair.
Graves reiterated that even if the General Assembly passed legislation in January and amended the state's budget to open eligibility for the program to non-Virginia residents, it would not take effect until 2026.
John Smith, whose daughter Marcia Walker spoke before the committee in November and again this month, asked the committee to do something to help his granddaughter — who is ineligible for the scholarship because she goes to college in Alabama.
"It took y'all 65 years to even put it on the table to do anything about it," he said. "I would appreciate anything y'all can do to help her. Not two years from now, three years from now. She needs help now."
Original article, Nov. 15
The Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program was established in 2005 to fund education for students denied an education when a handful of Virginia school districts chose to close their doors rather than follow the federal court decision mandating desegregation.
Last year, eligibility for the scholarship was expanded to include the descendants of the original group of students. Now it’s possible the program will be expanded again to include out-of-state students, though it’s unclear when an expansion would go into effect.
Currently, the program is restricted to in-state residents studying at Virginia institutions.
Marcia Walker spoke to the committee last week about her daughter’s experience applying for the scholarship. She was told she couldn’t receive the funds because she was attending a college in Alabama.
Walker told the committee that when her father, John Smith, found out that his granddaughter was denied the award, he was extremely upset. Walker said it looked like the news sucked the wind out of him.
“His exact words were: ‘Marcia, they are doing exactly to my granddaughter what was done to me,’” Walker told VPM News.
Smith was an elementary schooler in Prince Edward County in 1959, when county officials closed the schools for five years rather than complying with desegregation orders — part of a response in Virginia that came to be known as “Massive Resistance.” He would sit on the front porch, watch the school bus go by, and ask his mom why he couldn’t go to class.
Walker said her father didn’t go back when the schools reopened. In May, he was awarded an honorary diploma from Longwood University during a ceremony for those impacted by the school closures in Prince Edward County.
“He just started working,” Walker told VPM News. “So, he has been working since he was 13 years old, and now he’s 72.”
Walker urged the committee to consider changing the program to include those like her daughter who are attending college out of state. Right now, students must reside in the commonwealth and be enrolled in an eligible Virginia educational program to receive the maximum $10,000 award.
“It would greatly have helped us, because now I had to go to resorting back to taking out a loan for her to complete this semester,” Walker said.
Over the last few years, VPM News has spoken to several individuals who were denied an education during Massive Resistance. Many echoed similar concerns: They’d like for their grandchildren who live or attend school in other states to be able to receive the scholarship.
Committee members said they were open to considering that change, as well as potentially further expanding eligibility to include students who were forced to leave Virginia to continue their education — and their descendants.
“The reality is, Brown forced many families to flee Virginia, including Barbara Rose Johns, who had to complete her education in hiding,” said Del. Candi Mundon King (D-Dumfries). “Her family wasn’t the only one.”
Del. Anne Ferrell Tata (R-Virginia Beach) agreed that the money should follow the families impacted by the school closures — even if that means sending funds outside Virginia.
“This affected their family, and could possibly change the trajectory of that family,” Tata said. “I feel like that's where we really need to keep the emphasis.”
It’s not clear if the scholarship committee plans to vote on the changes at its December meeting or next year, but committee chair Sen. Angelia Williams Graves said it was not likely that any changes would be made that quickly.
The Virginia law establishing the scholarship program currently restricts awards to in-state programs. The General Assembly would need to amend that law and a section of the state budget that currently restricts financial aid awards to Virginia institutions, according to Lee Andes with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
Even if legislation were to be introduced in January, the program’s application wouldn’t be updated until the application cycle for the 2026-27 school year.
“Nothing happens quickly in the state,” Graves said.
Walker told VPM News that she’s praying that the committee will act in December, so that legislation can be introduced in the upcoming legislative session. She hopes her story will persuade them to take swift action.
“You can put a face to it, and it's not ‘out of sight, out of mind,’” Walker said.
