News Release
For Immediate Release: 3.17.25
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
Connecticut Teacher Ordered to Remove Crucifix from Workspace Files Title VII Complaint and Asks for Injunction to Prevent Further Retaliation
District suspended, reassigned, and smeared teacher in the media for hanging small crucifix near her desk.
New Britain, CT—First Liberty Institute and the law firm WilmerHale filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in federal court and a Title VII complaint with the EEOC against officials at the Consolidated School District of New Britain in Connecticut on behalf of 30-year veteran teacher Marisol Arroyo-Castro.
Since December 2024, the school district has refused to allow Marisol to return to the classroom unless she removes a small crucifix from her workspace. The district first put her on a 2-day unpaid suspension, then placed her on administrative leave, and recently demoted her to a non-teaching position, all while threatening termination.
You can read the motion for a preliminary injunction here.
“No teacher should be punished for hanging a small cross next to her desk in the classroom,” said Keisha Russell, Senior Counsel at First Liberty Institute. “And, despite multiple warnings before and during litigation that they were violating a recent Supreme Court case, the school district continues to retaliate against Marisol for standing up for her rights. She’s been suspended, reassigned, and smeared in the media, all because the district wants her to remove a crucifix from her personal workspace. We have no choice but to ask the federal court as well as the EEOC to stop the district’s unconstitutional behavior.”
Marisol has taught in Connecticut public schools for 32 years. For the last 10 years, she has placed a crucifix by her desk along with other personal items, such as family photos. As a devout Catholic, the crucifix reminds Marisol to pray and helps her remain calm throughout the day as she faithfully teaches her students. Other teachers similarly display personal expressive items that are important to them: photos of family and pets, sports team pennants, and inspirational quotes. Specific items include images and action figures of Wonder Woman, a Baby Yoda-themed desk mat, a miniature of the Mona Lisa, a photograph of a statue of the Virgin Mary, and a mug referencing a Bible verse.
In December 2024, Marisol was brought into a meeting with the vice principal and abruptly told that unless she removed the crucifix by her desk by Monday morning she would be disciplined for insubordination. She was later told she could put the crucifix in a drawer or under her desk, so long as it was completely hidden from view of students.
She refused, feeling as though doing so would be “hiding it under a bushel,” rather than let her light shine. She felt that if other teachers get to display what is most important to them in their lives, she should be allowed to display what’s most important to her—her faith in Jesus. She was then suspended without pay for two days during the holiday season, placed on administrative leave for nearly two months, and recently received an involuntary reassignment to a non-teaching position. The school district said it is considering whether to terminate Marisol.
The school district claims Marisol’s crucifix violates the Establishment Clause.
In the memorandum of law supporting a preliminary injunction, First Liberty Institute and WilmerHale attorneys explain, “In Kennedy, the Supreme Court made clear that school officials cannot use a mistaken understanding of the Establishment Clause to abridge the free speech and free exercise rights of school employees . . . . [T]he Court rejected the notion—supposedly rooted in the Establishment Clause—that a public school teacher’s personal religious expression must be hidden from students’ view . . . . Instead, the Court said that the Constitution and our traditions counseled ‘mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike.’”
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About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact John Manning at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453.
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