Lawyers for teachers who have filed a lawsuit against the Loudoun County, Virginia, school board over its new policies regarding transgender students want enforcement of the policy to be suspended while the suit moves forward.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a motion Friday for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction so the teachers won’t be subject to the policy while the case is being litigated.
Loudoun County High School teacher Monica Gill and Smart’s Mill Middle School teacher Kim Wright are looking to join Leesburg Elementary School teacher Byron “Tanner” Cross, who was put on paid administrative leave after criticizing the then-proposed policy.
Cross has since been reinstated after a judge ruled the suspension as likely unconstitutional. School officials have appealed the judge’s ruling to the Virginia Supreme Court, which has not yet made a decision.
The school board voted earlier this month to pass the measure that would expand the rights of transgender students in the county’s schools.
It requires students and teachers to address students by their chosen pronoun, regardless of the students’ biological gender. It also allows transgender student athletes to participate on teams based on their gender identity.
Transgender students would use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity. Critics say the policy forces students and teachers to violate their beliefs.
Loudoun County Public Schools said that it does not comment on pending litigation.
WTOP’s Chris Cruise, Zeke Hartner and Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.
