A Connecticut seventh-grade social studies teacher believes her school is retaliating against her after she refused to remove a crucifix from her classroom. Marisol Arroyo-Castro, a devout Catholic, has taught in the Connecticut public school system for over 30 years. During the last ten years, Arroyo-Castro has kept a rubber cross on her desk as a reminder to pray. However, that all changed last December when she was suddenly asked to remove it by administrators of DiLoreto Elementary and Middle School. “I had it for 10 years and never a problem . . . And then one day I got a message [from the vice principal] saying that I needed to take it down. He said that it was against the Constitution when I asked why,” Arroyo-Castro told The New York Post. According to the vice principal, two unidentified individuals complained about the cross.

Initially, she agreed to the request and put the cross under her desk for one day. However, guilt-ridden, she returned the cross to the top of her desk. When she refused to put it back under, she was removed from her classroom. Arroyo-Castro was first suspended, then placed on administrative leave. She has since been reassigned to a non-teaching position in the New Britain’s District Office. “I dream about my teaching experience almost every day. I didn’t realize how much I really love teaching now that I cannot go back, and the reason that I cannot go back is just so sad,” she told Fox News. She also expressed fears that she will be terminated.

Arroyo-Castro has now acquired legal counsel through First Liberty. “We’re in America, and a teacher is being asked to hide her crucifix and, if not, she’s being punished for it. That’s completely unacceptable,” said First Liberty senior counsel Keisha Russell. In their legal complaint, First Liberty cites the recent Supreme Court decision in favor of Joe Kennedy, a Christian coach who had been fired from his school for praying at the 50-yard line after games. “The disparity of treatment here against religious expression makes this an easy case under Kennedy: if Defendants permit teachers to display personal expressive items like family photos and inspirational quotes in their classrooms, they may not punish Ms. Castro for doing the same by hanging a crucifix in the personal workspace aside her desk,” First Liberty stated. First Liberty is currently awaiting a ruling from a Connecticut court on our motion for a preliminary injunction.

The school claims it has attempted to accommodate Arroyo-Castro. “While we regret the spectacle that this situation has caused, we look forward to a ruling from the court. Meanwhile, the district will continue to focus on providing an effective learning environment in which all students and staff feel respected and valued,” said Superintendent of Schools Tony Gasper. Meanwhile, Arroyo-Castro says she has received support from others who have been in similar situations. “I have had a lot of teachers get in touch with me secretly because they were told not to,” she said. “And they have just said that they’re praying for me. And even students have contacted me in church. They say they’re praying for me.”