Virginia’s political landscape is heating up as two high-profile legal and electoral battles converge, each with profound implications for veterans, families, and the future of public education in the Commonwealth. On one front, Attorney General Jason Miyares has launched a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), demanding enforcement of a Supreme Court decision that guarantees full education benefits for veterans. On the other, former Representative Abigail Spanberger is centering her gubernatorial campaign on restoring trust in Virginia’s public schools, setting up a sharp contrast with Republican-led education policies that have dominated headlines since 2021.
Attorney General Miyares’s lawsuit, filed on August 14, 2025, is a direct response to what he characterizes as the VA’s ongoing refusal to comply with last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling. That decision, handed down by a 7-2 majority, found in favor of Richmond resident and decorated Army veteran James Rudisill, who sued after being denied full benefits he’d earned under two separate GI Bill programs. Despite the clear legal mandate, Miyares argues, the VA continues to deny a combined 48 months of education benefits to qualified veterans like Rudisill and many others.
“Veterans who qualify for benefits should receive their full benefits — full stop,” Miyares declared in a statement reported by Daily Progress. “The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that veterans who are eligible for the Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bills are entitled to their full benefits. Not partial, but full. We believe we are correct on the merits and look forward to an amicable resolution on behalf of those who have served.”
The lawsuit, which includes co-plaintiffs such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and individual veterans including Rudisill, claims that the VA’s “unlawful” rules have not only denied rightful benefits but also increased Virginia’s financial and administrative burdens in supporting its veteran population. Specific cases cited in the suit highlight the tangible impact: a Virginia Army veteran with more than two decades of service, including deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo, was prevented from transferring GI Bill benefits to his daughter for law school tuition. Similarly, a retired Air Force colonel was forced to pay out of pocket for his son’s education after being denied his full benefits.
“The plain language of the GI Bills has always compelled the VA to honor the full 48 months of education benefits that veterans were promised,” the lawsuit asserts. “But for years VA rules have denied benefits to veterans who are entitled to them. Those rules are unlawful and should be set aside.”
As Miyares presses the legal case for veterans, Virginia’s political climate is also being shaped by the upcoming gubernatorial race. Abigail Spanberger, a former Representative and Democratic candidate, is staking her campaign on a promise to restore faith in Virginia’s public schools and to address the high cost of living. Her approach stands in stark contrast to the strategies employed by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, whose 2021 victory was fueled by parental frustration over pandemic-era school closures, masking mandates, and contentious debates over curriculum content related to race and LGBTQ+ issues.
Youngkin’s “Parents Matter” rallies, which swept through Democratic strongholds in Northern Virginia, capitalized on the sense of disenfranchisement among parents and helped Republicans make significant inroads in previously solid-blue areas. The Republican push also accelerated debates around diversity, equity, and inclusion, often placing children at the center of broader cultural and political conflicts.
Now, Spanberger is betting that a renewed focus on strong, inclusive public education can win back voters and counter Republican gains. “Aside from tackling the high cost of living, my focus as governor would be on ensuring Virginia has the best public schools in the nation,” Spanberger told supporters during a recent campaign stop, as reported by The 19th. Her campaign is also a historic one: with two women at the top of the ballot, Virginia is poised to elect its first woman governor this year.
Spanberger, herself a parent to three school-aged daughters enrolled in public schools, has made her personal experience central to her campaign. She recently shared a story of one daughter’s struggle with reading, crediting a dedicated public school teacher with turning things around. “We need to focus on ensuring that we are not playing games, that we are not using teachers or parents or educators as political pawns,” Spanberger said. “We need to focus on the results that matter to our kids.”
Her policy platform, unveiled at a Portsmouth event marking the launch of “Parents and Educators for Spanberger,” emphasizes closing funding gaps for school operations, opposing private school vouchers, fixing aging school buildings, and addressing teacher shortages through recruitment, mentorship, and pay raises. Spanberger is also prioritizing efforts to help students recover from pandemic-related learning losses, citing reports that Virginia lags behind in academic recovery compared to other states.
“I have three daughters in Virginia public schools, and I know everything that is possible for so many kids is dependent on the education that they do or don’t get in our public schools,” she said. “And so, education is a priority issue for me, but it’s actually contending with the real issues related to education.”
Her Republican opponent, Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, is doubling down on the party’s education agenda, promising to expand alternatives to traditional public schools, such as charter schools and vouchers for private tuition. Earle-Sears’ campaign emphasizes “parents’ rights and basic reading and math skills over ideological grandstanding,” and she supports policies that would exclude transgender girls from girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams. Earle-Sears has also stated that if local districts do not comply with these policies, she would sign legislation to force them to do so.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal funding from Virginia districts that maintain inclusive policies for transgender students, adding another layer of complexity to the education debate. Earle-Sears argues that the inclusion of transgender students is driving parents away from public schools and fueling demand for alternatives like private and parochial schools or homeschooling.
Polls indicate education remains a top concern for Virginia voters, with nearly one in ten ranking it as their most important issue. As early voting approaches in September and the general election looms in November, the outcome of these parallel battles—one in the courts and one at the ballot box—will help determine not just the future of education and veterans’ rights in Virginia, but also set the tone for national debates heading into 2026 and beyond.
Both the legal fight for veterans’ benefits and the high-stakes contest over public education reflect deeper questions about how Virginia will define its values and priorities in the years ahead. With passionate advocates on all sides, the state’s choices now will reverberate far beyond its borders.
