A Loudoun County, Va., public school physical-education teacher who says he will refuse to use transgender students’ preferred pronouns will be able to keep his job as his legal case proceeds, due to a ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court.
The instructor, Tanner Cross, has been placed on leave after he appeared at a meeting of the Loudoun County School Board in May and said his religious beliefs preclude him from using the pronouns transgender students prefer.
Backed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian nationalist legal group, Tanner sued. Upholding a lower-court ruling, the Virginia high court said the school system must reinstate Tanner as his case goes forward, asserting that he had the right to express himself during a public meeting.
“Cross was opposing a policy that might burden his freedoms of expression and religion by requiring him to speak and interact with students in a way that affirms gender transition,” the court wrote. (Loudoun County School Board v. Cross)
