recently passed policy requiring teachers to address transgender students by their preferred names and pronouns.Cross was placed on leave, barred from school grounds, and forbidden from speaking at future board meetings after he spoke out at a school board meeting in May, saying his religious beliefs did not allow him to “lie” by affirming transgender students’ gender identities.
He later sued the school board, claiming it had violated his right to free speech, as well as his free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the Virginia Constitution.In June, Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge James Plowman ruled that the school district must reinstate Cross while his lawsuit moves forward on its merits.