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Judge orders Loudon Virginia teacher be reinstated after refusing to teach biological boys who compete as girls

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Byron Tanner Cross reinstated
Byron Tanner Cross reinstated: Loudon County Virginia PE teacher ordered by judge to be given his job back after suspension over transgender school policy
Byron Tanner Cross reinstated
Byron Tanner Cross reinstated: Loudon County Virginia PE teacher ordered by judge to be given his job back after suspension over transgender school policy.

Byron Tanner Cross reinstated: Loudon County Virginia PE teacher ordered by judge to be given his job back after being placed on leave for refusing to affirm transgender kids against biological birth cause it went against his Christian beliefs and free speech. 

A Virginia gym teacher who was suspended for objecting to two school district policies related to transgender students — because they went against his Christian religion & free speech — has been ordered to be reinstated by a judge. 

Byron Tanner Cross, 38, was suspended from Leesburg Elementary in Loudoun County, Virginia, two weeks ago, after speaking at a school board meeting on May 25.

During his speech, the elementary teacher objected to two policies put in place by the public school board: one mandating teachers use the pronouns a transgender child identifies with, and one allowing transgender kids to take part in sports with the gender they identify with. The second one also allows kids to use the locker room and bathroom of the gender they identify with. 

Cross, in his speech, said the policies ‘defile the holy image of God’ and constitute child abuse. He also cited a recent 60 Minutes where Leslie Stahl interviewed a handful of young people who had transitioned within months of seeking treatment then regretted it.   

He was suspended afterwards with just about three weeks left in the school year and the school board said it was investigating his remarks. 

Judge sides with teacher

On Tuesday, Twelfth Circuit Judge James E. Plowman ordered the school district to restore Cross’ job. 

‘Defendants shall immediately reinstate the Plaintiff to his position as it was prior to the issuance of his suspension and remove the ban that was placed upon him from all buildings and grounds of Loudoun County Public Schools,’ a letter from Plowman read.

Cross had filed a restraining order and temporary injunction, demanding his job back and asking that his views not be censored again. 

The temporary injunction is set to stay in place until December 31 unless any alterations are agreed to before then. 

If either side is to request a trial, the judge says they must initiate that process by June 16. 

In his letter, Plowman suggested that the school district would lose a case against Cross at trial based on the merits of the case, arguing that Cross’ First Amendment rights were impacted adversely.

Plowman pointed to emails the school district received in regards to Cross, saying they didn’t prove Cross had disrupted the school day and that the few emails paled in comparison to the size of the school. 

Decision celebrated

‘[T]he Court has found … that the disruption relied upon was insufficient,’ Plowman wrote. 

‘The Court finds that in balancing all of the factors and weighing the facts presented, the Plaintiff’s interest in expressing his First Amendment speech outweigh the Defendants interest in restricting the the same,’ Plowman wrote. 

Five declarations were provided to the court from other school staff who felt they couldn’t speak about the issue after Cross’ suspension for fears of retaliation. 

The judge also said, ‘Upholding constitutional rights serves the public interest’ in making his decision.

Loudoun County Public Schools has not commented on the ruling, but Alliance Defending Freedom – which represented Cross – celebrated the decision.

‘BREAKING: Tanner Cross, a Virginia elementary school teacher and ADF client who was suspended for raising concerns to the board about a proposed gender policy, has won a temporary injunction and the judge has ordered his reinstatement,’ the religious liberty firm tweeted. ‘A massive victory for freedom of speech.’

‘Nobody should be punished for expressing concern about a proposed government policy, especially when the government invites comment on that policy,’ ADF President and CEO Michael Farris added to Fox News.

‘For that reason, we are pleased at the court’s decision to halt Loudoun County Public Schools’ retaliation against Tanner Cross while his lawsuit continues. Educators are just like everybody else — they have ideas and opinions that they should be free to express. Advocating for solutions they believe in should not cost them their jobs.’ 

After the ruling, Cross appeared on America Reports with his attorney to praise the decision as well.

‘We’re so happy,’ Cross said during Tuesday’s appearance. ‘There were lots of tears, lots of hugs – we’re just happy we were reinstated and I look forward to going back to serving Leesburg Elementary.’

He added that he rejected the science that says gender identity can change. 

Attorney Tyson Langhofer also stated that he believes Cross will retain his job beyond the injunction, repeatedly pointing to his right to speek freely as a private citizen at a public school board meeting.

Cross previously doubled down on his position on transgender rights, which he said is not in keeping with his Christian views.

He does not believe that every student or teacher in the district should have to accept his view of how best to show compassion to youth struggling with gender dysphoria, but he believes that teachers should not be compelled to say things they do not believe to be true, he said, adding that his faith teaches him using pronouns that don’t correlate to a person’s biological sex would be a ‘lie.’  

He argued in his lawsuit that kids he teaches don’t have the wherewithal yet to make a decision as life changing as transitioning, and said the school shouldn’t force a policy that parents might not agree with either. 

‘Children do not have a fully developed capacity to understand the long-term consequences of their decisions,’ his lawyer said in the lawsuit.  

Cross also said in his court filing that he doesn’t think it’s right for kids to access bathrooms and locker rooms of the opposite biological sex. 

He said that where possible, the school should create designated facilities for trans kids who feel like they don’t belong in facilities reserved for their biological sex. 

Loudon County, which is home to around 400,000 people, has become a microcosm of issues currently dividing America – critical race theory, transgender rights, gay rights and free speech.

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