Virginia's Loudoun County School Board is under fire once again after it abruptly ended a school board meeting on Tuesday night after parents and residents protested their new transgender policies and critical race theory proposal. Parents were also denouncing the school board's decision to appeal to a court order that required them to reinstate Christian teacher Byron "Tanner" Cross, who previously spoke out against their transgender policies.
Cross, a Christian teacher for physical education, was placed on paid administrative leave after he denounced the school's policy that required teachers to call students by their preferred pronouns. As a Christian, this policy violated Cross' beliefs.
He was suspended by his employers after he spoke out during a speech in which he said he would not "lie" to the students by telling them that "a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa." In a lawsuit that concluded earlier this month, a judge ruled for Cross and ordered the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) to reinstate him.
However, CBN News reported that the school "respectfully disagrees" with the court's decision and has decided to appeal the ruling. On Tuesday night during a school board meeting, the board decided to shut down public comment after parents came together to protest their decision, as well as a slew of other policies surrounding transgenderism and critical race theory being taught in their classrooms.
"The reality is LCPS is not parent-led education. It's government-forced indoctrination," Loudoun County parent Ryan Bomberger declared amidst the conflict between the Virginia school board and concerned parents. About 260 parents had signed up to address the board on Tuesday night, but only 51 were able to speak as the meeting abruptly ended after a chaotic interaction between parents and the school board members.
FOX News reported that the first six speakers supported the Virginia school's policy proposal 8040 on the rights of transgender and gender-expansive students that says in part "LCPS staff shall allow gender-expansive or transgender students to use their chosen name and gender pronouns that reflect their gender identity...regardless of the name and gender recorded in the student's permanent educational record."
However, the seventh speaker, a mother of a transgender Loudoun student was "booed" when she argued that "hate" was "dripping from the followers of Jesus in this room," accusing Christian parents of shunning transgender discussions which they believe should be done at home and not in a public setting such as the classroom. The board then called a five-minute break to calm down the crowd.
LCPS board chair Brenda Sheridan warned that they would end public comment if chaos ensued in the room. She said, "The board is here to hear from everyone...We ask again that you respect each other, and everyone is allowed to speak."
Former state Senator Dick Black, a Republican who was present during the board meeting, defended Cross and accused the progressive community members of organizing a list of conservative individuals to harass and publicly shame, a declaration that earned cheers and chants of "shame on you" from the crowd. The Virginia school board then ended public comment.
A couple of people who were cut off from speaking before the board and refused to leave the room were later arrested. On Wednesday, the LCSO said that its superintendent declared the meeting an "unlawful assembly." The Christian community in Virginia is also up in arms following the confinement of a Christian student to a small room during transgender-themed lessons that his family did not agree with due to their faith, a separate FOX News report said.
