Teacher Who Disputed Transgender Policy Reinstated By Court Order

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — A Loudoun County teacher who was suspended after expressing his resistance to the school system's policy toward transgender students has been reinstated due to a temporary injunction from a Loudoun County court. The teacher, Tanner Cross, is now able to return to his position at Leesburg Elementary School.

In the temporary injunction, Judge James Plowman said he ruled for Cross to protect the right to faith and freedom of speech.

"The comments made by the plaintiff have in their very core, proclamations of faith and how he is to apply them to his life," Judge Plowman said. "The weight of the evidence supports a determination that the plaintiff is likely to prevail on the merits."

In an interview that aired on Fox News on Tuesday, Cross said he was thrilled by the court's initial decision.

"There were lots of tears, lots of hugs. We're just happy that we were reinstated," Cross said. "I look forward to going back to serving Leesburg Elementary."

In May, Cross spoke against Loudoun County Schools' Policy 8040, which would require teachers to refer to students by their preferred name and pronouns, regardless of what the student's documentation says.

See also: Teacher Who Disputed School's Transgender Policy Placed On Leave

At a school board meeting on May 25, Cross said he would not follow the proposed policy. "I will not affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa. It's against my religion, it's lying to a child, it's abuse to a child, and it's sinning against our God," he said during the meeting's public comment time.

Forty-eight hours after his comments, Cross was suspended for "allegations that [Cross] engaged in conduct that has had a disruptive impact on the operations of Leesburg Elementary School," the school wrote in a letter to the teacher.

Last week, Cross, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, filed a lawsuit against the school board in Loudoun County Circuit Court. They claimed that Cross's suspension violated his freedom of speech.

Read more: Suspended Teacher Files Lawsuit Against Loudoun County Schools

Tyson Langhofer is an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom. He joined Cross in his Fox News interview on Tuesday.

"No teacher should be punished for advocating for the good of their students," Langhofer said. "Every teacher should be cheering this decision. School boards have no right to punish teachers for speaking at a public forum."

The Loudoun County School Board has not publicly commented on the judge's injunction or Cross's reinstatement. At a court hearing on Friday, a judge directed Cross, his attorneys, and the Loudoun County School Board to schedule a trial within weeks, according to reporting from NBC4 Washington.

In the meantime, Cross said he is looking forward to being back in the classroom. "I'm going to serve every student at Leesburg Elementary School to the best of my potential," he said on Fox News. "I will call any child by their desired name, I just can't say things that are untrue."

Transgender and non-binary children are significantly more likely to consider and attempt suicide, according to the Trevor Project.

However, research has shown that allowing children to socially transition, by using preferred names and pronouns, improves their mental health outcomes. A study in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry showed that transgender children who are allowed to socially transition had similar levels of depression and self worth as their cisgender peers.