On May 25, 2021, during the public comment period at a Loudoun County School Board meeting, Byron Tanner Cross—an elementary school teacher within the district—told the board that it would be against his religion to follow a proposed policy that would require him to use students’ pronouns associated with their gender identity rather than their biological sex. Following his comments, the board placed him on paid administrative leave. Cross then brought suit against the district, alleging that his rights to freedom of speech and free exercise of religion had been violated. The lower court issued a temporary injunction on behalf of Cross, requiring the district to reinstate him to his position. This decision was affirmed by the Virginia Supreme Court, and the parties subsequently settled. Loudoun County School Board v. Cross sits at the intersection of three significant legal issues: employee free speech rights, free exercise rights, and the rights of transgender students. In this presentation, we use Cross as a case study and entry point for exploring the proper scope of employee free speech and exercise rights in light of countervailing district and student interests. In doing so, we hope to answer how to balance these seemingly conflicting rights and offer practical advice for legal practitioners and school leaders confronted with these increasingly thorny issues.